The Wedding
by LilyBartAndTheOthers
Summary: Sequel to The Wedding Date - After James and Apolline's wedding in Scotland, it is now time for Maura's family to come to Boston to celebrate her and Jane's very own wedding. Pre-established Rizzles.
1. How To Get Maura To Say Yes

_**Author's note: welcome to the sequel; reviews more than appreciated and daily updates as usual!**_

**Chapter One: How To Get Maura To Say Yes**

**August**

It was simple but beautiful. Elegant. The blue of the sky seemed to echo on the fabric through the window store, embracing it of delicate shades making it look like subtle white clouds floating around. Focused on the dress, Jane bit her lips and took a deep breath.

One day. One day they would need this.

_If you don't miss her, now. Hurry up, Rizzoli. Move along. Come on! _Reluctantly and slightly anxious, the brunette abandoned the contemplation of the piece of clothing and resumed her walking down a small cobblestoned street; leaving behind the wedding dress boutique.

Harvard in August was a very singular place. Quiet, full of foreign students who were coming only for the summer.

The campus was the perfect spot to lie down on the grass and enjoy the weather in the shadows of centenarian trees, far from the suffocating temperatures of Boston and its pollution. Within ten minutes, the detective made it to the medical school building and decided to wait there by the stairs leading inside.

A few people were coming in and leaving; books under the arm.

Jane felt impressed. She always felt in the way when making it to a campus.

After all, she had not gone to college herself and – as much as she did not regret her career choices – a latent bitterness tended to tighten an invisible grip on her heart whenever she came across students. Especially the ones attending an Ivy League. There was something intimidating about them.

And maybe an ounce of jealousy from her.

"Have you been waiting for a long time?" A leather briefcase in hand, Maura walked down the stairs and smiled at Jane. She passed an arm around her waist and planted a soft kiss on her lips. "A group of students wanted my opinion on an article published this week in a medical journal."

"That's okay. I just walked around in the meantime."

The scientist grinned, satisfied of the answer. She grabbed Jane's hand and made a step towards the main path in front of them when a voice in her back stopped her right in her tracks.

"Will you attend Sarah's conference, Dr. Isles?"

Jane and Maura turned around only to see a young woman in her early twenties smile politely as the light breeze of the summer made her red hair float around her face peacefully.

The medical examiner nodded enthusiastically. "I will... And hope to motivate Jane to come along as much as she isn't into medicine." She smirked at the Italian and cleared her voice. "Jane, this is Emily Mayfair; one of my students for the summer. Emily, this is Jane. My partner."

"Oh." Somewhat surprised, the student shook the brunette's hand. "And here goes the mystery over your private life. We were wondering whether you were... _Close_... To Dr. Fredericks."

Jane raised an amused eyebrow and cast a glance at the honey blonde. "Should I be worried about that?"

...

Six months had passed by since Scotland. Half a year. Yet when Jane compared her life previous to the European travel, she had the feeling that a whole decade was separating her from now. She had moved to Beacon Hill – decided to rent her very own apartment – and she had officially become a part of Maura's romantic life. To the eyes of everyone, from her colleagues to her relatives.

They hadn't hidden themselves, at absolutely no moment.

Only a few hours after landing back in Boston, both had gone back to work and made things clear by arriving hand in hand at the BPD. Curiously and against all expectations, the transition had been extremely easy. As if it were meant to be.

"Happy birthday..." Sitting at a small cafe in Harvard, Jane smiled brightly at Maura and planted a kiss on the back of her hand; not caring much if they came across other students.

The scientist blushed. "Haven't we already celebrated it this morning?" Her mischievous murmur – warm enough – seemed to float in the air for a while, absorbing Jane's giggles along.

Life had looked bright, lately. Almost too perfect to be real. Maura had accepted the summer teaching position because Jane had convinced her to do so and she didn't regret it. As a matter of fact, none of her last decisions – since Scotland – had raised an ounce of regret in her heart. Everything was going fine.

Perfectly fine.

"We surely did..."

Maura bit her lower lip and nodded. "Twice."

This time, Jane turned red like a brick. She usually didn't talk about her sexual life – even if quite implicitly – at the terrace of a small cafe, surrounded by strangers enjoying their own drinks. Yet she should have known better for Maura.

"Yeah well, that doesn't mean I can't wish you a happy birthday one more time. After all, I didn't see you at all since this morning." _Well done, Rizzoli. Well done. _"And before you try to coerce me into this conference Emily talked about five minutes ago, there's something I'd like to ask you."

Maura took a sip of her iced tea and frowned. Not that she was worried but rather curious by Jane's sudden change of behavior. The brunette was looking for her words and looked nervous, sweeping the palm of her hand against her jeans every five seconds.

"Is everything okay? Please tell me it isn't again about the barbecue... If I reduce your intake of red meat, it is only for your health. And nothing else. You do understand, don't you?"

Jane nodded absentmindedly and ran a hand through her hair. Where to start? She had repeated the scene over and over in her head but – now that she was there – nothing came up. She was failing.

"Yeah, yeah. It's not about this. I err... I have something for you and it comes along with a question. A very simple one, actually."

Maura laughed, out of confusion. "I thought I would get my presents this evening."

Jane nodded. "And you will. It's just that I don't consider this one as a present. I mean not really. It's more err... What I know?" Before her obvious incapacity to make a proper sentence, she decided to focus on the action instead and took a small box out of her pocket. She opened it. "Will you marry me?"

The ring caught the sun and shone brightly. Maura blinked before the scene, taken aback. She had not expected this. Not now. In a year, perhaps. Who knew? They hadn't talked about it.

"You're supposed to say yes. I mean..." Jane laughed in a poor attempt to hide her nervousness. She had suddenly lost all her self-confidence. Not that she owned a lot when it came to her personal life but Maura's absence of reaction wasn't helping at all right now. "I hope you like it. Maybe I should have bought something less mainstream. Tiffany's is very classic, I don't know."

"It is the most beautiful ring I have ever seen."

Maura's remark hit the air with an emotional honesty; her voice shaking. With uncertainty – almost afraid the jewel would burn if she happened to touch it – she approached her hand from the box to brush the ring of her fingertips.

"It's platinum."

The medical examiner nodded, not breaking eye contact with the jewel. A classic – thin and elegant – engagement ring. Diamonds and platinum. Not too big, discreet enough. Perfect.

And then it hit her.

A hand on her mouth, she looked up at Jane then shook her head. "But I don't have one for you...?"

The remark made the brunette burst out laughing. She hadn't thought about such detail. Shrugging away the statement, she took the ring out of the box and slid it on Maura's finger. It fitted perfectly.

"We have time to find one but... Does it mean that I can take that as a yes?"

The honey blonde raised an eyebrow and finally managed to look at something else than the ring. She squinted her eyes, blinked.

"What?"

Jane frowned. Had she been _that_ unclear? "I asked you whether you agree on marrying me and you still have to answer. You know, yes or no. The classic thing. Dammit, Maur'! Focus, please." But as she saw the blonde's smile grow on her lips, the Italian understood that she was being teased.

Moving on her seat – back to admiring the ring that was now on her finger – Maura pouted and bit her lips as if plunged into a deep concentration. As a matter of fact, she seemed to be hesitating.

To Jane's highest despair.

"Well... It isn't that I don't want to – I mean, obviously you know how I feel about you – but I don't know whether Dr. Fredericks will be _that_ happy about this. It surely puts back in question our ménage à trois."

Jane rolled her eyes, her smile growing fondly as Maura planted a kiss on her lips. Of all times, the medical examiner had had to choose this one to test her sense of humor using the latest gossip they had just learned about her going on on the campus.

"Okay, give me back this ring. You don't deserve it."

Maura burst out laughing – shook vehemently her head – and bit her lower lip as she focused back on the jewel. She sighed dreamly. "No way. Over my dead body. This one is mine... For the eternity. Deal with it, Detective Rizzoli. It is all sealed."


	2. How To Make Maura Say The Truth

_**Author's note: thank you very much for all the reviews/muchas gracias a todas (y besos desde Paris a Veronika!).**_

**Chapter Two: How To Make Maura Say The Truth**

**September**

Jane stormed in – half-running on one foot while she tried to put on the missing stiletto – and let a bright smile play on her lips in spite of her short breath as she made it to the table where Maura and her father had been waiting for way too long to her own taste.

"I'm sorry I'm late. I got stuck in traffic."

Charles Isles stood up to plant a delicate kiss on her cheek and swept away her apologies with some gesture of the hand before nodding at the waiter to make the employee approach.

"No problem. Have you found a spot to park?"

The brunette sat down – softly kissed Maura – and focused back on her future father-in-law.

"As a matter of fact... Nope. I left the car just after Boston Common and ran the distance left." Needless to say that she didn't make any comment about the way she had changed in the car to be somewhat presentable for The Harvard Club where they were now at.

Charles laughed lightly before motioning at the waiter who had made it to their table with the most utter discretion.

"What would you like to drink, Jane? Maura and I had an excellent Coteaux du Layon but maybe a stronger alcohol is needed after the marathon you just ran!"

The brunette smiled politely and repressed the desire to order a beer. This was not the right place for such a drink.

"I'm err... I'm going to have a Martini. Thank you." Her order now taken, she focused back on their guest. "It is nice to see you here, Charles."

"Considering the last news I got from the two of you, taking the time to come here after the conference I attended in New York was the least that I could do." The man nodded at the waiter – politely waited for him to serve Jane – then resumed speaking. "Congratulations."

The detective grinned – exchanged a timid look with Maura – and grabbed her hand to hold it tight on top of her thigh.

"Thank you!"

It had been a month now that she had popped the question to Maura. Already a month. They hadn't waited for very long to announce it to everyone and the truth was that she was getting used to these almost daily congratulations they kept on receiving. It was extremely comforting and pleasing.

"So have you settled on a date yet? And a place?"

Maura abandoned the contemplation of the Boston skyline at night by the large windows to focus back on the conversation.

Crossing her legs – accepting another glass of white wine – she smiled peacefully at Jane before nodding at her father.

"Actually, we have... And this is when we need you." The honey blonde took a sip of her drink, marked a pause. "We wanted something intimate yet big enough for our respective families. A rather quiet place as well, which is why we discarded downtown Boston immediately... We were running out of ideas – except for Salem and its surroundings when it hit us." She sat up on her seat. "Harvard. We would like to get married in Harvard, on the campus. After all, this is where Jane proposed and the scenery is beautiful. It is the perfect place for us. Something elegant without it being too much. Do you think that – as an alumnus – you could get us one of the buildings out there?"

A grin began to appear on Charles' lips. The man looked ecstatic before such perspective.

"Finally you stop rejecting Harvard! I thought this day would never come." He turned towards Jane and rolled his eyes. "I never understood why she chose Cambridge when the whole family went to Harvard... Medicine... John Hopkins would have made more sense, actually!"

Jane laughed lightly.

"She can be rather stubborn." A snap on her arm made her jump of surprise. She looked at Maura – falsely offended – and gasped. "Ouch...?"

Not paying attention anymore to Jane's so-called pain, the medical examiner smiled at her father as she made the wine twirl around in her glass.

"So you think you can get it for us?" It had taken them long hours of brainstorming to think about the Ivy League and now that she had the idea in mind, Maura wanted it at any price. "It would be fantastic, to be honest."

Charles shrugged nonchalantly.

"Of course. What my daughter – and her fiancée – want, my daughter will have it. The current director is a good friend of mine, besides. Consider it as done. Now you can both concentrate on your dresses."

...

"You are such a daddy girl..." Leaned against the window of the car, Jane shook her head at nobody but herself and chuckled; looking somewhat at life going on on the sidewalk by her side. "I can't believe it."

Maura shot her a death glare before focusing back on the road as much as they were now stuck into the traffic and couldn't move an inch.

"Why aren't you happy that we are getting Harvard? Good thing you didn't propose in the middle of the toilet paper aisle, though."

Jane smiled, delighted by her lover's attempt to make a joke. She loved the idea of the campus. She saw it as an excellent compromise between her and Maura's roots; their social habits. The tradition of the Ivy League found an echo in the honey blonde's family without it being too much of a show of for Jane's. It was perfect. Absolutely perfect.

"Actually, I'm not happy. I'm kind of thrilled. Like... Really. And if it weren't for the fact I'm now in full digestion after this fantastic dinner at The Harvard Club, I would be more expressive." But all of sudden – as if she finally noticed her surroundings – Jane frowned. "Wait a minute. How come you managed to make it all the way to Back Bay with your car while you were driving from... The other side of the city – Charlestown – while I got stuck halfway from the BPD that is a lot closer?"

Uh oh.

An imperceptible movement of Maura's hands on the steering-wheel betrayed a sudden tension in her body. She swallowed hard and tried to shrug casually but her silence began to weigh a lot. Too much. Busted.

Jane gasped.

"Maura Dorthea Isles Rizzoli-to-be! You so cheated... You used your badge, didn't you?" The Italian rolled her eyes before another wave of silence and snapped at the door of the car. "I can't believe it... You insist all the time – and when I say 'all the time', I mean it – to make sure that I don't abuse of these poor advantages being a cop bring me and _you_ do it yourself with your own ones. Now this is low."

Full of remorse, the scientist bit her lower lip and made a face. What could she say knowing that it was impossible for her to lie? Jane had guessed her subterfuge.

"Well... Shouldn't you be thanking me for it? I mean, look at the weather. It is pouring outside. You would be walking up the streets to Beacon Hill under the rain right now if I hadn't used my badge to make it more easily to Back Bay."

Poor attempt. Very, very poor attempt.

"By the way, do you want me to drive to your car so you can take it back home?" Maura dared one of her brief – embarrassed – glance at Jane. She approached a tentative hand from her partner's hip.

"Nah. Drop me by it tomorrow on our way to work. I've had too many glasses to drive tonight... But that doesn't change the fact you freaking cheated." The brunette squinted her eyes at the road, shook her head. "And you're so gonna pay for it."

Maura didn't miss her lover's tone. She knew it by heart, now. A smirk played on her lips, almost in anticipation of what was coming. She straightened up on her seat, ran her tongue over her lips.

"How, exactly?"

Still focused absentmindedly on the road, Jane shrugged and let her left hand play with the hem of the honey blonde's dress. Her fingers passed underneath the fabric and began to caress the warm – hot – thigh there. Playfully.

"I might have an idea or two about it..."

Maura slightly spread her legs, inviting implicity her partner to go further up. She closed her eyes for a few seconds but kept her hands on the steering-wheel as much as their car hadn't moved an inch because of the late-night traffic. She swallowed hard, moved on her seat.

"I am quite looking forward to seeing that."

Jane was about to reply – her hand quite up between her partner's legs already – when a loud knock on the driver's window made the two of them jump of surprise. Maura opened it, swearing between her teeth before the sudden interruption. Their luck. Just when they had found something to actually make the long drive home entertaining.

Frankie leaned in – his rain coat soaked wet on - and grinned, unaware of the whole thing.

"So... Stuck in traffic?"

Jane rolled her eyes. So much for having a brother working currently on a case in the area. Really.


	3. How To Not Succumb To Panic

_**Author's note: thank you very much for all your reviews, it's a pleasure to read them (las tuyas también, Veronika!).**_

**Chapter Three: How To Not Succumb To Panic**

**October**

"Okay, I'm here. What did you want to..." Jane stopped right in her tracks as she reached the table at the very far end of the autopsy room. She made a face, swallowed hard. "What on Earth... I guess I can easily say I've seen gruesome things these past few years with my job but... That? Nope, never... What happened to him?"

Scalpel in hand, Maura looked up and smiled nonchalantly at her partner. She didn't seem troubled the slightest bit by the poor shape of the corpse lying on the table now.

"Oh congratulations. How did you manage to assume that it was a man considering what is left... Of his head?"

Jane cast a very last glance at the corpse and shrugged. In all honesty, she had absolutely no idea. A sheet was covering the chest, going down to the feet. One was missing.

"Fifth sense?" She blinked and shook her head to focus back on the reason why she had made it to the room in the first place. "You wanted to see me?"

Maura nodded and delicately put down her scalpel. She took her latex gloves off – loudly – before letting a sigh pass her lips. She forced a smile; a hand on her hip. Obviously, she was hesitating.

"My father sent me an email regarding our wedding."

Jane's smile froze. Charles Isles had stopped by Boston a few weeks earlier, accepting to organize the ceremony in Harvard. Was there a hitch or something that the scientist looked sorry?

Biting her lower lip in anticipation, the brunette tilted her head on a side and made a face. "He did not get it, did he? Shit." She took a deep breath, trying to calm down her latent panic. "It's okay. It was just an idea, anyway. It's not like Massachusetts doesn't have plenty of other spots for a wedding venue. As..."

Maura raised a hand in the air to interrupt her immediately.

"We got Harvard."

Jane blinked – brought the weight of her body on her left leg – and squinted her eyes at her partner to understand why Maura seemed gutted.

"Then why aren't you thrilled? Shouldn't you be going all hysterical, talking to me about flowers and whatever?"

The medical examiner looked down at the table and made abstraction of the damaged corpse lying on it. The senator had asked for an immediate autopsy. She hadn't been able to postpone it and go for a coffee with Jane instead in order to talk about her father's mail.

"I am not expressing any surge of enthusiasm right now because there is a 'however' in all of this..." Pursing her lips, she frowned and tried to find the best words to use for such announcement. Rather in vain. She finally opted for the most direct way. "We can only have Harvard on November, 16th."

Silence.

Maura ran her tongue over her lips and nodded as if to confirm her very own statement. "November of this year. In nine weeks."

Jane finally reacted. Or so. As she opened her mouth to speak, a bare – yet loud enough – couple of chuckles hit the air. She shook her head, almost certain she hadn't heard properly.

"Excuse me?"

...

Dropping her handbag by the door, Maura stepped into the house and followed Jane to the kitchen area. It had been raining all day long. She was cold, exhausted.

A hand on her lover's back – a kiss stolen on her nape – she walked to the counter and grabbed a mug.

"Would you like a coffee?"

The Italian nodded then sat on a stool. She took her jacket off, let her stilettos hit the floor loudly as she freed her feet from them.

"All my life she literally harrassed me with my wedding. I can't believe she passed away four weeks before it. If we hadn't just attended her funeral, I'd tell you my nanna is a bit bitchy here."

A heart attack. At ninety-five, it hadn't been much of a surprise but still. Pulling on the sleeves of a dark sweater she had put on for the occasion, Jane rolled her eyes and sighed. She would definitely miss her grandmother but – deep inside – she couldn't help thinking that the timing was bad.

As if they weren't rushed enough by the express-wedding preparations like that.

"Ma' wants me to wear nanna's veil, now. As a homage. How can I escape from that? I already have my dress and there's no way I add a train. This isn't me, Maura."

Whining. She was whining. And on her grandmother's funeral day, besides. She had no excuse at all for such behavior but then wasn't her wedding supposed to be _her_ very own day?

The day she could wear whatever she wanted and nobody would have a word on it?

She closed her eyes and started rubbing her temples. Perhaps she was finally starting to understand the kind of stress a wedding could bring to a future bride.

Maura shrugged. In all honesty, she didn't picture Jane out wearing a train nor a veil. It wasn't fitting at all. Besides, they had decided to have a rather discreet wedding . Nothing too extravagant.

Angela's wish slightly changed the perspective.

The medical examiner held a mug of coffee out to Jane and took a sip of her own one before pouting. She bit her lip, leaned against the kitchen top.

Index on her mouth, she nodded. "I might have an idea."

"You're about to Project Runway me, aren't you?"

The question made the honey blonde laugh. Without adding anything, she walked to the laundry and came back a minute later in the kitchen with their respective dresses.

If at first they had assumed the extremely tiny lapse of time would play against them, Jane and Maura had had no choice but to concede it wasn't much of a problem in the end. Everything seemed to fall into place rather easily and proving thus how one didn't need a whole year to organize a wedding.

Very carefully, she took Jane's dress out of its protection and put it down on the couch. Jo Friday approached and sniffed the unusual piece of clothing.

"See, I think we can use this veil but as something else than a veil."

Jane abandoned the stool she was sitting on – reluctantly – and walked to the living-room; her mug of coffee in hand. She cast a glance at the dress before frowning at her lover.

"See. You _are_ Project Runway me."

Maura scoffed but the smirk that began to play at the corner of her lips betrayed her inner thoughts. Disarmed, she ended up shrugging.

"I am just trying to save you on this, Jane. Now if you want to actually wear this train as it is then it is your choice and I put back your dress into the laundry."

Unconvinced but desperate, the brunette shook her head and looked down at her dress. She actually loved it. It was simple – elegant – and emphasized her curves perfectly. She had even had quite of a hard time believing it in the fitting room when she had tried it.

"Go ahead." _Oh, do you really need to mumble now, Rizzoli? She's trying to help. Damn, look at the amount of money she puts in fashion magazines. She can be trusted in this field. _

"I think..." Focused on the piece of clothing as if her life depended on it, Maura grabbed the old veil made of lace to put it right on top of the dress. "We can sew it just there to emphasize the high waist. Do you see what I mean?"

Jane nodded. She would have preferred to spend the rest of the day talking about something else - she was not a Vogue addict - but she did understand where Maura was heading nonetheless.

And yet.

"But then I'll have a high waist and you an empire waist. Aren't we going to look like siamese or something? I don't know... It might be too matchey."

As if the detective had just explained the Theory of Relativity in ancient Greek, Maura opened big eyes – pleasantly surprised – and grinned. She brought a hand to her heart in an emotional gesture.

"I cannot believe that you are actually thinking about such details. You make me so proud, Jane... See, there is a bit of a fashionista in everyone; even in you."

"Yeah well, don't get used to it." Dancing on her feet, the Italian made a face. "It's just... That I wanna look pretty for our wedding. I mean as much as I can next to you, that is. I don't want us to look too unbalanced."

A bittersweet smile lit up Maura's features. Very slowly, she approached her partner and caressed her cheek before sweeping away a strand of hair from Jane's face.

"I wish you believed me when I tell you that you are beautiful." Her murmur rose in the air with a delicate honesty. She let a few seconds pass by before resuming her speaking. "Now to confirm – or not – what you have just said... Put the dress on. I am going to do the same with mine and we are going to compare."

Jane rolled her eyes. She should have known better than to play along Maura's game.

"Can't we do that another day? Let's just chill out on the couch and watch television. I'm sure there's a good movie on. Or even a documentary." Anything but another fitting session.

Needless to say that ten minutes later, both women were standing in front of a large mirror in their respective wedding dresses; trying to arrange the veil on Jane to make it pass for a waist addition.

Maura always won at this. Always.

"What are you doing?"

Angela's voice in their back made them freeze and straighten up. They turned around – the rustle of their wedding dresses breaking the sudden silence – and laughed nervously at the scene. Half of Jane's family had arrived.

As planned.

Except they had forgotten about it.

"They pretty." In his mother's arms, TJ pointed an index finger at both women and smiled brightly.


	4. How To Make Abstraction of Details

_**Author's note: thank you very much for all the reviews!**_

**Chapter Four: How To Make Abstraction Of Details**

**November **

"Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God. Here comes the maid of honoooooor!" Pushing other travellers aside to make her way to Jane – not caring much about the mess she was creating in the process – Amy kept on yelling then opened her arms to the Italian only to finally kiss her rather discreetly on the cheeks. She dropped her expensive leather bag right on the floor and squeeled of delight. "I thought this day would never come. Where is Maura?"

It hadn't been a year but apparently Jane had already forgotten Amy's temper. The woman's exhuberance was taking her completely aback. A British hurricane had just made it to Boston. First victim: Logan International.

"She's at home. There're still many details to work on before Saturday. We're far from being ready."

Amy wrinkled her nose - snorted - and took a pack of cigarettes out of her bag before resuming her walking towards the exit.

"Come on... You are marrying the mortuary version of Bree Van De Kamp. Maura could organize a wedding for like 500 guests within a week if she had to. I know my cousin."

They had barely made it to the sidewalk outside the airport that Amy was already lighting up a cigarette and rolling her eyes; sighing in pleasure. A non-smoking nine-hour flight was definitely a torture for the British woman.

Jane smiled at the remark and motioned her the area - a bit further - where she had parked. She and Amy had kept in touch after Scotland, sending mails and calling each other quite often. They really had hit it off, for the honey blonde's highest pleasure who hadn't hesitated the slightest bit before asking her cousin to be her maid of honor.

After all, the medical examiner wouldn't be on the verge of getting married if Amy hadn't forced her and Jane to make peace in Scotland. And more.

"Oh my God. Is this your car?"

Jane made a face and ran a hand through her hair, a bit embarrassed. Another unforeseen event, one that belonged to a long series of mishaps that they had been facing for a week now. And if she had – in all honesty – to recognize that they had handled the short lapse of time previous to their wedding rather well, things seemed to be taking another turn, right now.

"My car's at the mechanic and I couldn't take Maura's in case she would need it. So I'm stuck with this." She nodded a bit apologetically. "Property of the BPD. I'm sorry for that. Mind you, the cool part is that I can park anywhere like err... Here... Right on the sidewalk."

Amy scoffed and shook her head as if Jane had lost her mind.

"Are you kidding me? This is bloody fantastic! A police car... Wait. You so have to take a picture of me in front of it. My friends are going to love it: five minutes in Boston only and already arrested."

...

"Is there anybody here?"

Flower pot in hand, Maura passed the door of the patio - walked into the living-room - and trotted to her cousin for a warm welcome. She pushed away a strand of hair from her face and smiled brightly before discarding her basil on the kitchen counter.

"It is good to see you, Amy. How was your flight?" The blonde was about to add something when she noticed Jane's gestures in her cousin's back. The Italian was waving like a mad woman; asking her to stop talking. Maura obliged.

Too late, though.

Amy pursed her lips and brought her hands to her hips in an obvious gesture of disapproval. What had happened again?

"Don't try to make me start on another subject than the one we need to talk about, Maura Isles. The lady who is here..." She turned around to point at a desperate Jane. "Took a quiz from my magazine while we were driving from the airport and the results are revealing: you two behave like the old couple you aren't supposed to be... The kind that makes love twice a week - on Wednesday and Saturday - at a regular hour to not trouble your goddamn sleeping schedule and this is not tolerable, Yankee."

Maura blinked, uncertain of what was going on. Perplexed, she cast a glance at Jane who had turned red like a brick and was now pretending to be focused on a stack of papers abandoned on her desk.

"What?!" The scientist shook her head as an incredulous laugh passed her lips. Now that was quite an introduction from her cousin. "We aren't like this. We don't always make love on Saturday night."

_And there you were, thinking your family would be loud and embarrassing, Rizzoli. It was without counting on Maura's relatives. _

Amy swept away the comment with a gesture of the hand. "Of course, as you sometimes work on Saturday night. Don't play with words, Maura. You two seem to have succumbed to a terrible routine. Thank God I have arrived just on time to save you from all this... When was the last time you actually had sex out of this house? And don't include the car. This is a boring classic."

Jane cleared her voice to catch Amy's attention on something else. Anything else. She wasn't eager to develop such part of her intimate life at noon in the middle of her living-room with a third party. Where did this carefree attitude regarding sex come from, exactly? It was a typical Isles signature.

And something that her very own family would have a hard time dealing with.

"The judge called, Jane. She wants you to call her back. It seems like she needs your opinion on the Smith case before the trial next week."

The brunette nodded. Under other circumstances, she wouldn't have been pleased by this. She had made clear that she wouldn't be available this week. She and Maura had taken seven days off to make sure that everything would be ready on time for their wedding ceremony by the end of the week and none of them felt the urge to add work to such stressing schedule. But by the direction Amy's conversation was taking, she might finally be rather glad to have something else to deal with.

"Is it a murder case?" The British woman raised an eyebrow, her question hitting the air with curiosity.

Jane nodded.

"Somehow... I mean, someone died. Maura can confirm, she worked on it too. But it's a bit more complicated this time, actually."

"Fascinating. Maybe the two of you should take the time to share your cases with me one of these days. Who knows? I might be the next Agatha Christie...!" Amy winked – looked down – and squeeled at Bass who had made it just by her feet.

"You're a writer? I didn't know that." Jane frowned; a bit lost.

This time, Maura turned out to be the one who laughed. She shook her head at her future wife before casting a glance at her cousin who had squatted down to caress the tortoise the same way she did with Amadeus in Plockton.

"No. Amy is a socialite."

"That's a job?" Another frown from the detective.

"Why it surely takes most of my time!" Standing back up, Amy smiled warmly and walked to her travel bag. "Now if you will excuse me, I am in desperate need of a shower. Third door on the left up on the first floor, right?" She trotted to the stairs. "But don't think we are done with this routine conversation, Yankees."

The house turned quiet again.

Jane closed her eyes – enjoying the sudden peace – and took a deep breath. Hurricane Amy was gone for at least thirty minutes. What would it be when – on Thursday – the rest of Maura's family would arrive as well as her relatives?

"Have you solved the issue with the florist?" The brunette's hoarse voice resounded low, peaceful. "'Cause if not... Then let's cancel the flowers and we'll go steal some at night by the city hall. They do have great ones, you know."

A smile began to play on Maura's lips, soon echoing on her features and making her face shine; lighting up a flame in her hazel eyes. She turned around – passed her arms on her lover's waist – and pulled her closer to her own body.

"The city hall only has big – purple – petunias. Something tells me that this isn't the kind of flowers you would like to have for your wedding. Am I wrong?"

Jane made a face and shook her head.

"Alright. Scratch the vandalism idea." She let her arms pass around Maura's neck and began to play with the blond curls absentmindedly; enjoying the scientist's heat brushing with a certain delicacy her fingertips. She smiled, unaware of the way her lips had curled up softly. "I'd never thought that - one day - I would turn out to be one of these women worried about flowers and pastries... And shoes... For their wedding. Don't get me wrong, I'm more than eager to marry you but I must have been naive to think I'd make it through it like a cool cat." She laughed, and shook her head. "It's stressing!"

A shade of delicate pink travelled up Maura's cheeks as she bit her lips, restraining a smile before her lover's confession. She loved it when Jane opened up to her. Such a deep contrast with whom she had been when they had met for the first time. The road had been long but worth every second.

"When _I_ had assumed that I would be a lot more nervous and stressed than I am now. You bring me peace, Jane. A lot of peace. Details are just details. They aren't important, in the end." Maura bent over and smiled brightly in their kiss.


	5. How To Let Doubts Invade Maura

_**Author's note: thank you very much for all the reviews!**_

**Chapter Five: How To Let Doubts Invade Maura**

"Dr. Isles?"

A few homestyle magazines in hand, Maura turned around and smiled at her interlocutor; a young woman in her early twenties.

"Sarah! How are you?"

It wasn't that summer had been gone for a long time now but with the rush of the wedding preparation and the short amount of time to do so, Maura had had very little time to think about the classes she had given in Harvard.

She had put this parenthesis of her life aside rather quickly to focus on her upcoming union to Jane but seeing her student standing in front of her now suddenly brought back fond of memories of an experience she didn't regret the slightest bit.

"I am fine... Busy, obviously. My internship has just started. What about you?"

Maura opened her mouth to answer when Amy arrived, coffee in hand. The honey blonde cast one very brief glance at her cousin before smiling back at Sarah.

"Sarah, this is Amy... My cousin. Amy... This is Sarah, one of my Harvard students. You know, from this summer when I err... When I gave some lectures, there."

The British woman raised an amused eyebrow – nodded – then shook the student's hand politely. A smirk lit up her features.

"Nice to meet you."

Sarah nodded in return and squinted her eyes at Amy; obviously noticing her accent that could not pass for a Bostonian one. The student forced a smile.

"Are you visiting?"

"More or less. I am here for Maura's wedding. Needless to say that we had all assumed that it would never happen but hey... Miracles and all that!"

The medical examiner shot a death glare at her cousin and swallowed hard. A powerful wave of heat rushed up her cheeks as embarrassement began to creep in. She was certain that Amy enjoyed all this way too much.

The socialite had always been this way with her; even as a child, she would do anything to tease her. Some things would never change.

"Oh." Sarah blinked and made an uncomfortable step backwards. "You are getting married? Congratulations."

Maura mumbled a vague thank you and was desperately trying to find something constructive to say when the young student made it easier by excusing herself. All smiles, she left the coffee store claiming a rather important appointment at the hospital where she followed her internship.

Amy went to sit down at a table by the large windows. For long seconds, the woman remained quiet and sipped on her drink observing the rumors of the street on a gray – cold – day. Maura joined her - a tea in hand - and started leafing - rather peacefully - through one of her magazines.

"You know what that is?"

The honey blonde frowned at the imprecise question and shook her head. She followed her cousin's gaze but nothing outside was worth being pointed at. People were coming and going peacefully. It was a rather classic urban scene.

"What are you talking about?"

Amy finally abandoned her mysterious contemplation to lock her eyes with Maura's. She pursed her lips, wrinkled her nose in disapproval. Her features had deepened under the weight of doubts.

"Sarah."

Leaning on top of the pile of magazines she had bought a few minutes earlier, the blonde shrugged and shook her head. Confusion embraced her face as she closed the publication she had started reading.

"As I told you, she was a student of mine this summer. A brilliant one, actually...! She wants to either become a neurosurgeon or a..."

But before she had a chance to finish her sentence, Amy interrupted her with a snort. Drink in hand, the socialite shook her head and swallowed hard.

"No. She is troubles. Haven't you noticed the way she looks at you? How she reacted when she got to know that you were getting married? She has a thing for you, Yankee. And that – believe me – is not something you want to deal with right now."

Maura blinked, completely taken aback by the statement. She turned around furtively to look by the window – as if hoping to see Sarah's ghost there for an explanation – but before the emptiness of it, she burst out laughing.

"You must be really jet lagged." She marked a pause and tried to deal with her cousin's absence of reaction. In vain. So so she went defensive instead. "And even if so... What do you want me to do? I mean... At least telling her that I was getting married must have reduced her hopes to nothing."

Amy produced an odd sound of disapproval and sighed rather loudly.

"Please don't tell me that you hadn't noticed it. I know that you can be rather blind when it comes to all of this but come on...! Hasn't she tried to reach you since you stopped teaching there? Oldest story in the world and you have to fall into this. You are such a genuine person - at times - Dr. Isles..."

Maura shrugged and – suddenly guilty – looked down at her hands. She let a few seconds pass by as a whirl of words began to bump against each other on her mind. Sarah had indeed sent her emails – but all of them had been related to medicine – and there was nothing insisting in her attitude. At no moment had she seemed to be flirting.

At no moment had the student tried to cross some lines.

"Perhaps Sarah has a thing for me but you are honestly seeing things where there is nothing at all to see. I am in love with Jane. Jane loves me, and trusts me. She knows that she can. The only thing – and yet – that interests me in Sarah is her love for medicine. Our relation is purely professional. As the one of a professor with a student should be. There is no trouble to foresee nor anything." A bit annoyed for a thousand reasons, Maura opened back her magazine and shook her head. "Don't take it bad, Amy, but you should stop watching Eastenders. Life is not a soap opera."

Amy didn't insist even if the face she made clearly highlighted the idea that she was not convinced.

The door of the coffee store opened, Jane came in. The socialite waved at her, putting thus an end – implicitly – to the odd conversation she had just had with her cousin.

"Did you get your car back?"

The Italian grabbed a chair – sat down – and kissed the honey blonde at the corner of her lips before moaning away Amy's question.

"Nah. Giovanni said it should be ready on Thursday, though. Fingers crossed. I'm so tired of having to drive around in the BPD car. You have no idea how many guys have asked me to handcuff them so far. A nightmare."

Maura laughed lightly – bit her lower lip – and shook her head apologetically.

"Would you like to have a drink? We are done shopping..." Discreetly, the medical examiner placed her hand on Jane's thigh and squeezed it. She offered her partner a smile, a peaceful one. "I swear I won't complain if you order half of their coffee pot."

Obviously in a good – rather light – mood, Jane smirked and got closer to Maura to check the menu of the coffee store.

"Why so good with me? I'm gonna start thinking I need to forgive you for something!" The Italian's joke fell rather flat. Immediately, she looked up and frowned at Maura; worried. "What happened?"

The scientist rolled her eyes and settled further on her seat. She repressed a yawn, fought against the urge to shoot another icy glare to her cousin for the ridiculous conversation about Sarah.

"Nothing! I am just a bit tired."

Which was true. She hadn't slept very well the night before. The wedding would take place within five days and she had the feeling that nothing was ready. A bunch of lies. In all honesty, they only had to double-check the catering company and the florist. And welcome their respective families.

"Are you okay?" Suddenly worried, Jane frowned – her voice hitting the air in a delicate whisper of doubts – as she pushed away a strand of hair from Maura's face to plant a kiss on her temple. "We can go home, if you want... Then have whatever Amy takes to be as much on top form as she is now."

The British socialite burst out laughing. Jane pointed at her as if to prove her point.

"See! Her flight landed this morning from London. She should be dead tired and yet here she is... Fresh like a daisy. This isn't normal. Nope. She hasn't even taken a nap. How on Earth do you do that?"

"That..." A smile began to play on Amy's lips, a very amused one. She picked a paper napkin then proceeded to fold it. "Is called the British touch. Accept it, Yankees. We Europeans are way better than you are at this game." She took a sip of her coffee, cleared her voice. "Fine. Now who is this Giovanni and can he make it to my list?"

Jane chuckled and turned around to look at a rather desperate Maura. Nothing had changed since Scotland when it came to men and Amy, obviously. If there was one around, the socialite felt the urge to have him.

"Well, Amy... Ask Maura what she thinks about him. I mean she surely has quite a nice story to tell about... Our dear Giovanni." Grinning like a fool, the brunette winked at her future wife. "Don't you, honey?"

Maura slapped her shoulder rather brutally. Jane winced, feigning pain.

"Ouch...?"


	6. How To Contradict Amy

_**Author's note: thanks everyone, it's a pleasure to read and reply to your reviews.**_

**Chapter Six: How To Contradict Amy**

The bare touch of Jane's lips on her shoulder woke her up. Softly, warmly. She smiled and turned around in bed to settle in the brunette's arms.

"Good morning..." Maura's sleepy voice floated around, echoing the grin that was now lighting up her face with a subtle delicacy.

Jane blushed – looked down – then captured the scientist's lips in a deep kiss. At no moment had it been awkward between the two of them once they had crossed the lines of their friendship to give into something stronger; more intimate. As they had come back to Boston, they had found a whole series of brand new references and had taken advantage at the most of their new relationship.

Sliding a leg between the detective's, Maura passed her arms around her lover's neck before playing with her hair. The thin strap of her negligee followed Jane's caress, the satin of the piece of lingerie embracing her skin as it fell down to her thighs. They broke the long – eager – kiss.

Maura laughed lightly.

"What are you doing?"

Rhetorical question, obviously. But the scientist had to ask, if only because they didn't have much time for themselves. Amy was in the guest room – maybe already up – and their schedule for the day was rather dense.

Between two kisses on Maura's shoulder blade, Jane shrugged and let her lips brush every inch of shivering skin until she found back the honey blonde's jaw.

"Proving Amy she's wrong and that we can make love without booking the night two weeks or so in advance..." A smirk played on her lips. "Or the morning, that is."

Now naked, Maura rolled on her stomach and passed on top of Jane. She discarded the shirt rather effectively before plunging back in the exquisite pleasure of her future wife's curves.

"But how do you want to prove it to her if she isn't in the same room as us?"

Jane closed her eyes for a few seconds as her fingers travelled up Maura's hips and the palm of her hand made contact with the blonde's lower back. She ran her tongue over her own lips, swallowed back a moan before the delicate caresses of the scientist.

"Are you trying to tell me that you'd like Amy to take part in this?"

The medical examiner laughed – openly and loudly this time – then let her partner turn her around; Jane's athletic legs pressing her thigh, her breasts brushing her back.

"No, not really... No!"

The brunette captured back Maura's lips for a long kiss before murmuring against her mouth, hands on her lover's thighs.

"That's what I was thinking."

Her hand passed Maura's stomach before disappearing between her legs.

...

Wrapped in one of Maura's extra-large woolen cardigans, Jane stepped into the kitchen a couple of hours later and frowned before the avalanche of flowers that was now covering the kitchen top.

"What is that?"

Mug of coffee in hand, Angela welcomed her daughter with a loud kiss on the cheek and shrugged. She seemed to be in a good mood; relaxed enough in spite of the stressing week.

"The florist delivered them at 7am. You didn't hear the bell? As she was thinking about different – yet rather close – kinds of arrangements after what Maura had told her yesterday, she dropped all these samples for you to choose. Make sure to let her know by 5pm." The matriarch took a sip of her coffee. "Personally, I like number 6."

Her brow furrowed in slight surprise, Jane bent over the one her mother was pointing out and made a face; uncertain. She wasn't much in flower and bouquet mode. Not just yet. She was starving and still had to drink her first sip of coffee.

"Where is Maura?"

Walking to the coffee pot, the detective poured herself a mug and stole a French toast the matriarch had obviously prepared for her. She bit into it enthusiastically and rolled her eyes in pleasure.

"Having a shower. Is Amy still sleeping?" Mug in hand, Jane leaned against the counter and looked at her mother. "Mind you, she must be jet lagged. She insisted on taking us to a gay bar last night when she got to know that we ever really went to the South End."

Angela chuckled yet shook her head.

"As a matter of fact, she has already left the house to buy cigarettes. You know... While you and... Maura were... Err... _Waking up_."

Jane smiled peacefully. Her behavior towards her very own sexual orientation had changed a lot – if not just completely – since Scotland. Her relation with her mother was less chaotic as well, as if the phone call they had had – Angela in Boston and Jane in Plockton – had soothed years of frustration and the delicate connection they shared.

The detective was not afraid anymore to assume who she was. She didn't live with the weight of a thousand secrets on her shoulders anymore. She had never said it but – deep inside – she knew that she owed all this to Maura and nobody else. If it hadn't been for the honey blonde, Jane would have probably never revealed to her family this part of her life.

Even if it had been welcomed warmly, perfectly fine.

Now she had no issue whatsoever assuming her life and her relationship. Not that she was eager to give away every single detail of her couple - unlike Maura - but she didn't complain anymore either when people mentioned the two of them.

"Oh ma', please! We don't need to know why it took Maura and Jane so long to make it downstairs."

Surprised by the voice, the brunette turned around – a hand on her heart – and stared at Tommy as he walked into the kitchen; box of tools in hand. He motioned with his head at the patio door.

"I repaired the sink in the guesthouse... Hey, are these French toasts? Can I have some too?" As he approached a tentative hand from the plate, the sound of Jane's snap on his arm pushed him to make a step backwards. "Ouch!"

Angela rolled her eyes and separated both her children before the fight took another direction and they messed around with the flowers.

"There is enough for everyone – Tommy included – Jane... It's the least we can do considering he's just spared us the cost of a plumber. Do you know the prices in this city? It's..."

A scream made her stop right in her tracks. Taken aback, the three of them looked at the ceiling as the sound had come from there. Jane frowned and straightened up.

"Maura...?" As much as she had tried to keep composure, her tone of voice betrayed her latent panic and she made a few steps towards the stairs. She hadn't heard anything get broken, not even a loud – deafening – bang. Nothing. "Maura, is everything okay?"

"Jeez, Jane. This is how you behave with your future wife? You should already be upstairs making sure she's fine! Damn I can't believe that – of all people – I'm the one giving you advices like that about women."

The brunette shot a death glare at her brother who instantly made a step backwards. Tommy knew better than to go on her nerves more than what the limits tolerated.

"He is right, Jane. Have you ever heard about chivalry?"

Great. And now her mother joined the conspiracy. Mug of coffee in hand, the detective looked again at the ceiling and waited for a few seconds. The house was dead silent. Too much? Hesitantly and a bit worried, Jane put a foot on the first step – ready to climb – only to see Maura rush downstairs in a silk bathrobe; soaked wet, shampoo still in her hair.

"What's going on? Have you seen a spider or something?" Somewhat reassured to see that her lover was still in one piece, Jane tried to laugh without mocking Maura's terrible attire. She knew as well – just like her brother – how to not push the scientist's buttons. "Why did you yell like a monkey?"

Maura snorted and put a protective hand on top of her chest as she noticed Tommy's presence in the room. She shook her head vehemently.

"I don't suffer from arachnophobia, Jane. And I certainly don't 'yell like a monkey' because monkeys don't yell. They actually..."

Jane raised a hand in the air to stop her. When Maura was in panic, it was impossible to get a clear answer if she weren't put back into the right direction immediatly.

"Then what happened that you... I mean... Look at you."

Maura followed Jane's gaze down to her wet feet that had left prints everywhere on the hardwood floor. She sniffed, shrugged.

"There is no hot water anymore. I was taking a shower when – all of a sudden – the water turned icy. Something is wrong with the water heater."

Oh.

_One, two, three. Don't panic, Rizzoli. Nope. Just take a deep breath and prove to the whole world that you were actually paying attention during these yoga classes. _

"What?!" Her strangled – unusual high-pitched – voice resounded loud in the house. "You gotta be kidding me... Within two days, your relatives make it here." She turned around – panicked – before locking desperate eyes with Tommy's. "You'll have all the French toasts in the world if you fix this."


	7. How To Survive A Bad Day

_**Author's note: thank you very much for all your reviews and suggestions!**_

**Chapter Seven: How To Survive A Bad Day**

"What do you mean you can't?"

Visibly uncomfortable, Tommy forced a smile then shook his head at his sister. He had been looking at the water heater for two hours now and the conclusions weren't very optimistic to say the least.

"It's dead. All I can do right now is order another one but it'll take one week or so before you get it." The young man looked down at his feet and twisted his hands nervously. "I'm sorry, Jane."

Shocked – halfway between reality and a nervous breakdown – the brunette remained still and quiet as the only sign of life seemed to come from her constant blinking.

"The good thing is that it's just water!" Tommy laughed but made an immediate step backwards and cast a sideglance at the nearby exit if he ever needed to run away to avoid his sister's rage.

"Of course." Jane grinned and raised her hands in the air before shrugging nonchalantly. Or so. The light in her dark eyes had rarely been that intense. She let escape a bitter laugh. "Who cares if there is no water here for the next few days? I mean it's not like we have anything big planned. Nope!"

Discreetly, Tommy reached the door and began to step backwards in the corridor. The surface of the room had suddenly been reduced to nothing.

"Maura's family only arrives on Thursday. That leaves you two days to find a hotel and our relatives all live in Boston except for a few of them who – anyway – weren't supposed to stay here. It's going to be alright. Don't worry."

"No, it's not!" And there she was, yelling like a mad cow as she was just making it to a new level of stress. If her heart survived this week then Jane was certain to make it to one-hundred years old. "It. Is. Not. Okay. And don't you dare to tell me it is. You have no idea what it is to prepare a wedding!" Raising a menacing index in the air, the detective took a deep breath and made a step towards her brother.

"Hey, it's not my fault! I repaired the issue in the guest house but I'm not Super Mario!" But eager to remain alive for a bit longer, Tommy turned around and rushed to the living-room where Angela – bouquet of flowers in hand – was trying to tidy up the mess left behind on the kitchen counter. "Ma', she wanna kill me!"

The matriarch rolled her eyes – not really worried by the whole scene – and sighed heavily as Jane stormed in the room.

"It's not your brother's fault. Just stop it now and look for hotels on line, instead." Angela bit her lips knowing beforehand that most of hotels were full this week due to an international convention.

This was not mission impossible but quite close nonetheless.

Jane stopped – turned around – and looked at her mother in despair. Anger had melted into panic, an ocean of doubts. She swallowed back a wave of tears that were asking for nothing but to come out.

"First my car, now the water heater... Why?" Fists clenched, she shook her head and let herself fall on one of the stools before plunging her face into her hands. "It's a conspiracy."

Tommy approached carefully before exchanging a sorry look with his mother.

Hard to say that his sister was exaggerating.

...

"Do you like it, TJ?" Holding the toddler by the waist, Maura let him come closer to Jane's dress as she noticed the way the little boy was admiring it. "She will wear it on Saturday."

Sitting on the armchair of the laundry room – glass of wine in hand – Amy raised an eyebrow at the child and smirked.

"Shortie surely likes dresses and has great taste. After your Prada, he is on Jane's wedding dress."

Maura rolled her eyes at her cousin but didn't hide her amused smile. Amy was right. TJ seemed to have developped a fascination for women's clothes and loved spending time in the laundry room.

"He just likes Jane a lot... She is a great aunt and always enjoys her time when she babysits him. It doesn't happen as much as it used to, though. Lydia and Tommy moved a bit too far from Boston but we try to see him every two weeks nonetheless."

"He likes you too." Amy brought the glass to her lips and took a sip. "Do you want children? Have you talked about it with Jane?"

The socialite's tone of voice had suddenly turned serious, contrasting thus sharply with her rather nonchalant pose on the armchair and the way she kept on playing absentmindedly with a scarf.

Maura swallowed hard and looked down at TJ. The toddler was holding a juice cup and tried with his other hand to grab the wedding dress. She smiled at the scene, bitterly enough though.

"No. We haven't talked about it... I guess it is too complicated. We have very demanding jobs and... We don't lead a life that could suit any child. But it is okay. We have TJ and – who knows – maybe other nephews and nieces will join within the next few years."

Amy smiled yet rather unconvincingly as a heavy silence seemed to start weighing on the room.

"Oh my God!" Maura's shriek put an abrupt end to the bittersweet atmosphere as she took TJ away from Jane's dress immediately.

Too late, though. The toddler had spilled his strawberry juice on the white piece of clothing; leaving behind a torrent of pink liquid on the delicate fabric. Maura swallowed hard, started breathing a bit too loudly to not sound panicked.

"Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God. Nooooo. Not that. No, no, no, no, no."

Amy finally moved from her seat to check the damage; yet making sure to leave her own glass of wine at a reasonable distance. She pursed her lips – tilted her head on a side – and made a face. It was not that she wanted to sound quite pessimisstic but the situation had just reached a very bad level on the hope scale.

"It isn't too late. Take it to the dry-cleaner's immediately. I am sure that they can get it back to err... Well, you know... A strawberry-less state." The British woman cast a glance at TJ. "Now well done, Shortie. Really."

"It isn't his fault, Amy." Maura shook her head and – remorseful – bit her lips. "I should have been more careful. I knew that he was holding his cup but I thought the protection cap was enough to avoid this."

"Maura, are you there?"

Jane's voice resounded loud and way too close.

Panic mode: activated over and over.

Not knowing what to do, the medical examiner sat in front of the dress to hide the damage part and grinned just as the brunette opened the door to poke her head inside. Jane frowned, slightly taken aback. She paused, laughed nervously.

"What are you all doing here?"

Amy shrugged and took a sip of her wine as if nothing had happened. Maura squinted her eyes at her cousin, suddenly envious of her capacity to feign absolutely everything. Needless to say, she had to remain quiet herself if she didn't want to sound suspicious to Jane.

"Just having a bit of a talk and enjoying your nephew's presence among us. He is very cute. You must be proud of him."

Touched, Jane nodded enthusiastically before taking TJ in her arms to make him twirl around. The toddler burst out laughing; delighted. She squeezed him against her hip and smiled brightly.

"Oh. You are still holding your juice cup, lil man? Thank God it's empty. With all the issues going on, the last thing I want is you to spill some on my wedding dress. Hahaha!"

Amy forced a smile – a light laugh – to cover Maura's sudden moan of despair. Running a hand – not so casually – through her hair, the scientist frowned at her future wife as the last statement Jane had made reached her mind.

"Issues? What kind of issues?"

The Italian sighed and swallowed hard. She would have loved stopping by the laundry room for a more optimistic conversation but after a quick check on the web, she had had no other choice but to let Maura know about the current situation.

"Your water heater is dead. We won't have a new one before a week or so which means no hot water in the meantime." Jane shook her head and tried to calm down her heartbeats. "So I've checked with ma' a couple of hotels but they're all full and I don't want to send your family to Brookline."

"Oh."

Perhaps if she had witnessed the scene from an external point of view, Maura would have found it rather entertaining but being the first concerned by it, she was actually closer to passing out; juice hidden in her back on Jane's dress had turned into an insignificant detail, all of a sudden.

Or almost.

Because as she was about to reply – advancing that they had two days to solve the issue – bagpipes resounded loud. A few feet away. Out there on the street. Jane blinked and rushed to the main door that Angela and Tommy had opened.

The whole Scottish clan was standing on the sidewalk, in kilts. Playing music.

"Oh shit..." Jane bit her lower lip, swallowed hard.


	8. How To Look For Solutions

_**Author's note: thank you for all the reviews (you will see in tomorrow's chapter why they can't have the water heater earlier; sadly I talk from experience, here)**_

**Chapter Eight: How To Look For Solutions**

"Relax. You get the dress back within two hours. Consider this nearly disaster as belonging to the past." Martini in hand, Amy winked at Maura and let a satisfied sigh pass her lips as she settled further on her armchair.

The scientist barely paid attention to the remark and cast a glance around. Considering the direction things seemed to have taken since the morning, she wouldn't have been surprised to run into Jane at the hype lounge she was now at even if – in all theory – the brunette had very little to do here.

"Looks like I made it on time to help you with the situation!" Apolline laughed lightly and grabbed an olive from a little plate. She started chewing on it rather enthusiastically. "So apart from the little dress mishap, what have I missed so far? Anything?"

"Beacon Hill goes without hot water for the rest of the week."

Maura squinted her eyes at Amy and barely held back a growl. She hadn't had time to properly talk about the situation. The Scottish clan's unexpected arrival – two days in advance – had brought one serious last-minute change of plan. If she had to be honest then she would have said that she hadn't done anything but run away from the whole mess, pushed by Amy who had somewhat managed to get Jane's attention on something else as Apolline and Maura had taken the dress to the Prius out in the street in all discretion or so. In reality, it had more looked like a farce than anything else.

The only positive point was that the dry-cleaner had had optimistic words about the situation.

"I will never be able to face Jane again. Not after what we just did. I cannot lie. She is going to see that something is going wrong with me." Shame or guilt, Maura could hardly say but the truth was that she felt bad; terribly bad.

"Don't be so dramatic, Spooky Mo." Apolline smiled reassuringly – leaned over the table – to hold tightly her cousin's hand. "I am talking from experience so you can trust me. A wedding brings a very high level of stress but don't focus on all these little details. Try to look for the positive side. It should be a happy moment for you, a unique one." The British woman rolled her eyes. "I went through it way back in February. Tuppence burnt James' tie a few hours before the ceremony and nobody saw it!"

The revelation got welcome by a silence that Amy broke after long seconds of hesitation.

"Since when do we have an arsonist in the family?"

Apolline shook her head at the comment then patted Maura's hand for moral support before making a sign at the waiter.

"He burnt it with his pipe so remember to keep him at a reasonable distance from your dress if he is smoking around. Now that being said, all I want you to understand is that my wedding went rather – I mean, I guess – smoothly in spite of all this. The same will happen to you." As the employee made it to the table, Apolline smiled at him. "A bottle of whiskey, honey. The situation is serious, here."

Maura swallowed hard.

"But you just said that it was insignificant."

Apolline cast an embarrassed glance at Amy – moved nervously on her armchair – and cleared her voice to win some time.

"Why it will become insignificant as soon as you have enough alcohol in your blood. Sometimes in life, you need a little help."

...

A hand on her forearm made her jump of surprise. Barely repressing a scream, Jane turned around only to see Tuppence standing there by her side. She forced a smile, a polite one.

What else could she do, anyway? Half of Scotland had decided to make it to Boston earlier in order to enjoy whatever the city had to offer. Sadly right now at her place, it wasn't hot water.

"May I help you?"

The old man shrugged and motioned evasively at the empty living-room. Angela had decided to go out with everyone for a very late lunch while Tommy had left with TJ. The house was quiet again – if only for a few hours – which meant that the detective could fight her latent migraine in better conditions.

"Where is Maura?"

Jane took a deep breath and tried to find the right words that would sum up the fact that she had no idea at all about this. The honey blonde had disappeared at the same time as Apolline and Amy, the last one claiming that the three of them had to go out for a family tradition of some sort promising – nonetheless – to stop by a couple of hotels to see if they hadn't a few rooms available.

"She's not here right now." _Now that's one way to be vague without daring to say that you have no idea whatsoever where your future wife might be. _

"Perfect. I just wanted to make sure that she wouldn't be around. Come with me, Jane. By the way, I hope that you haven't forgotten anything about our family."

Jane reluctantly followed the old man; not that she had anything else to do but she was not really in the mood for a new lesson about the clan. As a matter of fact, she was in the mood for nothing but – eventually – run away with Maura as far as possible.

The Thelma and Louise road trip had never seemed so appealing. Minus the tragic ending.

"I hope everything is okay. I am sorry for the water issue. Feel free to use the guest house as often as you feel like to. We will find a solution very soon to..." Jane stopped walking only to stare right in front of her at the piece of clothing hanging by the patio door.

Tuppence smiled.

"Sure I could have got you a kilt but – as much as I am not conservative – traditions are traditions. So I hope you will like this."

Not really knowing what to say, Jane approached the tweed jacket at the colors of the family and let a grin light up her features. She was extremely touched by the gesture.

"Maura has one..."

The Italian nodded and tried the piece of clothing. It suited her perfectly; made-to-measure. She turned around to look at her reflection in the mirror of the lobby.

She was elegant and – suddenly – had the feeling to be back to Scotland wearing the clothes Maura had bought her previous to the travel. She hadn't worn them much in Boston. Habits had kicked in again rather quickly.

"I know she does." She smiled at Tuppence with honesty. "Thank you very much. I love it. Too bad it won't match my wedding dress, though. I would have loved wearing it for the ceremony."

The old man burst out laughing and shook his head.

"Wear it for the formal pre-wedding dinner on Friday and you will officially be a McLeod." A wink sealed the deal and as quietly as he had come, Tuppence left to go and sit down on the couch where he resumed the reading of a novel.

Jane observed him – hesitantly at first – before nodding to nobody but herself; determined. She let her feet lead her to the couch and cleared her voice.

"I know you turned down the others' invitation to go out in the city for a while but would you like to go to the BPD with me and meet some of my colleagues? I have to go and grab a few stuff there."

Tuppence looked up from his book and stared straight in front of him; pondering the question. For a very long moment.

"In this police car of yours?"

Jane made an apologetic face and nodded, a bit in vain. She had almost forgotten that her own car was still in the hands of Giovanni and that she had to drive around in the BPD one. She shrugged, ran her tongue over her lips.

"I am afraid so..."

Tuppence burst out laughing and literally jumped out of the couch. He walked to the lobby to take his coat abandoned there and nodded.

"Best news I have heard so far! But... I do have a question, though."

Jane squinted her eyes at the old man, uncertain of what to expect from him.

If there was one thing that she had learned about Maura's family, it had to be that she couldn't pretend to know them enough to anticipate their reaction to absolutely anything. Anything at all. She waited.

And waited.

"... Yes?"

Seeing that the last two people in the house were on their way outside, Jo Friday trotted to them and began to jump joyfully around Jane; asking her owner to take her with her. The brunette looked a bit sorry at the dog. This was not a ride Jo Friday could take part in.

Hesitating, Tuppence shrugged and smiled at his interlocutor.

"I have to say that I would love it if you put the siren on at some point. It is just an old child dream. Needless to say, I have never been arrested so it never made it to reality."

For long seconds, Jane remained quiet; staring in disbelief at Tuppence. Unsure of whether she had heard his wish that well. She frowned hesitantly.

"Sure...?"

The old man grinned.

Jane opened the door and let him pass first, repeating to herself that she should know better than to be surprised by Maura's relatives' reactions.


	9. How To Get Jane To Relax

_**Author's note: thank you very much for all the reviews: I have explained the Scottish/Irish thing in The Wedding Date.**_

**Chapter Nine: How To Get Jane To Relax**

"Mornin'..." Wrapped in a large woolen cardigan, Jane walked on her tiptoes to the kitchen before passing her arms around Maura's waist from behind and planted a kiss on her partner's cheek.

"How are you?" Maura cast a glance at the brunette but focused back immediately on the coffee she was making. "Are you feeling better?"

Jane shrugged and pouted. She went to grab two mugs before handing them out to her lover and let her pour some coffee in them.

"I wouldn't have minded waking up by your side. You know I don't like it when you're up before I am." She blushed and laughed away her sudden timidity of some sort.

The truth was that she had never been as expressive in a relationship as she was with Maura. Their couple was the perfect balance and reassurance she needed to dare and talk openly about all these – strong and warm – feelings. At times she even wondered if the honey blonde realized that, if Maura noticed how frank she was on a daily basis.

"As much as sex is an excellent stress reliever, I am afraid that we can't afford it two days in a row right now. It is Wednesday. We leave for Harvard within forty-eight hours and we haven't gone yet to... You know... A spa, the hairdresser..."

But the situation had definitely got better regarding the dress – back to normal as promised by the dry-cleaner Maura had generously tipped – and they had found a small Bed & Breakfast just at the end of the street; supposedly closed but the owner had been too scared of feeling responsible for Jane's upcoming heart attack if he didn't accept to welcome Maura's family for three nights.

"I wouldn't say no to a bath. A hot one, that is." The Italian hid her smirk behind her mug but made a step backwards just on time to avoid Maura's snap on her stomach.

So much for the medical examiner having a made to measure water heater to make sure that it would fit in a narrow and long closet; the size that couldn't – thus – be found in any store and had to be ordered through only one company located in Germany.

"You will have a hot tub in Harvard."

The smile that played on Maura's lips sent a shiver down Jane's spine. She swallowed hard, leaned against the counter in full incapacity to articulate the slightest word. The scientist reduced suddenly the distance between the two of them and let her index finger pass through the cardigan to caress Jane's stomach.

"A hot tub and a wife."

The main door burst open – forcing them to put an abrupt end to the intense moment – as Frankie and Angela stormed in; in full talk. Or at least until they reached the living-room and spotted there Jane and Maura.

The matriarch immediately hid something behind her back. She smiled, forcefully enough.

"Why good morning! Early birds much?"

Oblivious to the whole thing, Maura cheerfully made a step towards the living-room and shrugged before checking at her watch.

"Not much. It is almost 9. What were you two doing out at this hour? Aren't you on a day off today, Frankie?"

Jane's brother opened his mouth to reply but not a single sound came out until his mother hit him in the ribs to make him react. He cleared his voice; too nervously to Jane's taste.

"Ma' and I had err... We had to somehow run a few errands, check some stuff." Satisfied – or just in denial – before his vague answer, he nonetheless nodded at Maura.

Jane sighed and put down her mug on the kitchen counter a bit too loudly. Without waiting a single second, she rushed to her mother to grab whatever the matriarch was hiding in her back but Frankie quickly stepped up in front of her. The brunette pushed him away; annoyed.

"Come on, spill it out. What is going on? What are the two of you hiding from us?"

Panicked, Angela cast a brief glance at her son before frowning at Maura as the scientist grabbed a remote control and pressed a button to turn the television on.

"No! Don't do that!"

Surprised – and scared – by the outburst, the medical examiner turned around and stared at Angela as if she had just lost her mind. She nonetheless politely smiled then looked for the right words to not hurt anyone.

"Amy is still sleeping upstairs so it would be nice if we could actually talk a bit lower. You know... She is still suffering from jet lag."

But that was without counting on Jane's very loud gasp. Annoyed, Maura frowned at her partner at first but quickly noticed how livid the brunette was. Livid and petrified.

"What is going on?" Finally following the detective's gaze, Maura turned around and looked at the television. It only took her three seconds to fall into the same state as Jane. "Oh my God."

"Good morning, everyone! How are you all..." All smile and wearing a – long - turquoise kimono, Amy stepped into the living-room only to frown as she noticed the absence of reaction or better said how everyone was watching the local news on television. "Oh, a fire in Boston! Was it far from here? I didn't hear the firemen."

Frankie shook his head and looked down, not daring to answer out loud. Maura did, though. With a blank voice.

"In the South End. This... This is..." She put a hand in front of her mouth and took a deep breath. "It is the building of... Of the caterer we have hired."

"Oh." Amy made a face at her cousin. "Don't take it bad but you two are the unluckiest people I have ever got to meet so far..."

...

Sitting on one of the stools of the kitchen, Maura cast a sorry glance at Angela before focusing back on Jane and patting her arm gently.

"We are going to do just fine, honey. Don't be worried."

But her fragile smile melted away immediately as Jane looked up and locked her red – puffy – eyes with her hazel ones. The Italian swallowed hard.

"How? How exactly? This is a nightmare. A freaking nightmare. The car, the water heater and now the caterer... Why? What have we done to deserve that?"

"We paid an insurance, the caterer has to deliver us one way or another. Let's just wait for their call. I am sure that this is just a last-minute little change of plan but nothing too serious."

Jane blinked and waited to see hives appear on Maura. She counted until five but nothing happened. The scientist had either skilled the art of lying or she really thought what she was saying even if the lapse of time before their departure to Harvard was the shortest one.

"In the worst scenario case, you can count on me for the catering. Forty-eight hours should be okay for me to come up with something." Angela made a timid step towards her daughter but didn't let a smile play on her lips.

Jane snorted.

"For two hundred people? And I can't believe you got the news about the fire but didn't tell us!"

Angela shrugged and exchanged an apologetic look with Frankie. She had put down on the counter a list of caterers they had gone to - to find a solution - while Jane and Maura were still sleeping as she had heard about the fire in the South End. Out of fifteen, one had to call them back. It wasn't much.

"We just wanted to spare you the bad news, Janie. You are enough stressed like that for the moment. You need to relax and... Well... What is happening now is... Not relaxing."

"Come on, drink this. An Amy special. Just make sure to not bring an inflammable object too close to it." The socialite made a face at her slight clumsiness. It was surely not the best moment to joke about potential fires. "Never mind. Just drink it. As strong as the Scottish winter."

Jane looked at the mysterious cocktail and sniffed it. The smell made her cough. She shook her head vehemently.

"What on Earth is this? I am not getting drunk to relax. This is wrong." She pushed the glass away but Amy pushed it back towards her.

"Maybe a little cocktail will come in handy." Maura smiled at her then planted a kiss at the corner of her lips.

"How come you're so calm? Are you drugs or something, Maur'?" Jane shook her head and looked at everyone in the kitchen. The rest of the Scottish clan hadn't arrived yet but they were probably up by now nonetheless. "How come nobody but me is panicking? Are you all on Prozac? This is just a nightmare what we are going through!"

As she started hyperventilating – maybe even more because of the others' peaceful attitudes than the critical situation itself – Frankie couldn't hold a chuckle back.

"I'd have never imagined I'd see you one day in the role of the hysterical bride. I thought Maura'd be like that!"

The medical examiner made a face and closed her eyes. Subtlety was definitely not running in her future family-in-law's blood. She heard Jane's growl and mentally got ready for the upcoming outburst.


	10. How To Keep It Up

_**Author's note: thank you everyone for the reviews, I promise Jane won't die of a heart attack nor Maura of a sudden panic attack.**_

**Chapter Ten: How To Keep It Up **

Jane made her way through the crowd of dancers and reached the table where Maura was sitting. She put down their respective drinks and settled next to the honey blonde before scanning the room; looking for Amy – Apolline – and Cailin. She spotted them on the dance floor, a drink in hand.

"Did you eat all the popcorn?" Jane made a face as she realized that the small bowl was now empty. She had only left for five minutes, though. Was Maura starving that much?

"Well... We didn't have dinner yet." The medical examiner shrugged apologetically and stood up as she shook her head. "I am going to order some more."

Jane grabbed her hand and motioned her to sit back down. She could do without popcorn as long as they stopped by somewhere for a late-night pizza at some point.

As much as they had expressly said that they didn't want any hen party, Hope's daughter had nonetheless dragged them to a night club. Her very own way to sweep away the bad news of the past couple of days.

It was not that it wasn't a nice intention but the stress of the wedding – the uncertainty to find some available caterer on time – was weighing too much on Jane and Maura's shoulders for them to take part in the festivities. All they wanted to do was to go back home and disappear under the blanket.

"I don't need the popcorn, don't be worried. Let's stay an hour here and then we just leave. Anyway, I'm not sure they will notice anything." Jane smirked, motioned with a gesture of the head at Cailin and Amy who were now dancing with two guys while Apolline had headed to the bar for a refill.

"Don't repeat this to anyone but I guess that I am feeling extremely old and out of place, tonight."

Maura's confession made Jane smile. She slid an arm on her partner's waist to bring her closer and planted a kiss on top of her head. She still didn't understand how the honey blonde could remain so calm in this context. Needless to say that she had witnessed Maura lose her nerves for less than that on many occasions.

Once the Scottish had made it to their house, they had left for a day in Boston; leaving to Angela the delicate task to find a new caterer or come up with a menu that she would be able to prepare within twenty-four hours.

"You're not alone..." Jane grabbed her glass and took a sip of her cocktail. The alcohol warmed her up almost instantly. She took a deep breath and waved at Cailin as the student winked at them. "I'm not trying to be like a party pooper but we shouldn't be here enjoying drinks, Maur'. We get married in two days and everything is falling apart; one piece after another. We should be home looking for solutions. Not at a freaking nightclub."

The scientist turned around and locked her hazel eyes with her lover's dark ones. She brushed with delicacy Jane's cheek and let her fingertips trace an invisible path to her jaw.

"Stop thinking about this. Seize the day."

The comment made Jane snort. She had made it to a twilight zone, it was the only way to explain it. Maura – the control freak – had turned into a peace and love activist who didn't care much about her very own wedding.

As the thought crossed Jane's mind, she frowned; suddenly concerned.

"Do you still want to get married?"

The question took Maura aback. She remained quiet for long seconds – the music echoing the bright colors of the spotlights getting reflected on their faces – and blinked. A bitter laugh passed her lips.

"You don't seriously want to cancel the ceremony just because we don't have a caterer anymore, do you? Jane..."

The Italian rolled her eyes. Perfect place – perfect moment – for an argument. Everyone around was partying hard but them when they should have. It was their week, their parenthesis in life. But truth to be told, only stress came out of it. She swallowed hard before such pessimistic perspective.

"Why do you answer my question by another question?"

Maura frowned, shook her head slowly. This time, Jane had completely lost her. She didn't see at all where the brunette was going with her insinuations. She grabbed her cocktail and took a sip of it. In such context, she needed vodka more than what she would recognize.

"What is going on? Why are you asking me that?"

Jane scoffed, visibly offended. In a sudden outburst, she stood up and rolled her eyes again. She was pissed off and the lump in her throat – that invisible one preventing her from breathing properly – as she kept on swallowing back tears of rage hurt insidiously.

"I'm asking because I don't recognize you anymore, Maura. Who are you? Our whole wedding – the one we worked on for the past month – is turning into a big farce and you don't seem to give a shit. So maybe that means deep inside, it's not as important for you as it is for me."

Baffled, Maura remained speechless; unable to find the slightest word to face Jane's own ones. She hadn't assumed the slightest bit that the Italian could interpret her behavior this way. Because it was obviously not what she was thinking. On the contrary.

"I'm out of here. Going to study catering options if you ever care about this."

And without adding anything, Jane turned around – crossed the dance floor – and walked towards a large door on the left to the bar to exit the club.

...

Constance leaned back against the couch of her hotel suite – made the ice cubes of her cognac twirl around – and sighed loudly; not in the mood to hide it. On the contrary. She wrinkled her nose but – in spite of everything – let a warm smile embrace her features.

"Is finding you in tears just a few hours previous to a wedding a brand new tradition of yours?"

Tearing down her tenth tissue, Maura shook her head and held back a sob. She hadn't stayed at the club once reality had hit her back and she had realized that – carried by anger – Jane had left after having harsh words. Not harsh for their meaning but for the pain she must have felt, a pain betrayed through them. And Maura felt guilty. Awfully guilty.

"This isn't funny."

Constance raised an apologetic hand in the air and lit a cigarette. Needless to say that she had been rather surprised to see her daughter on the door frame of the hotel at almost 10.30pm. In tears. She had just arrived from Paris and was only supposed to head to Beacon Hill on the very next day.

"Nobody has called off anything either. It is just a little argument brought up by stress. Anyone who is about to get married go through this."

Maura cast a glance at her mother, rather unconvinced. Apolline and James had been happy from the beginning to the end. At no moment had they had to face all this. Except for the tie accident if she now took into account her cousin's confession but nothing else.

Certainly not the kind of doubts Jane had highlighted.

"I should have replied to her instead of turning mute like that." The blonde rolled her eyes, buried her face in her hands. "I love her. Of course, this wedding is important to me. As a matter of fact, it is the reason why I am not stressing out." She looked back up, searching for her mother's eyes.

"What do you mean?"

"It is not the ceremony that has importance to my eyes but the fact I am making Jane mine. As long as... As long as she becomes mine – and wears this symbolic ring – then I don't mind about the rest. It is insignificant. I don't care about flowers, about caterers and menus. Not even about dresses! All I am thinking about is our union, and what such decision means. Because it means a lot if not just... If not just absolutely everything. We could do it in the middle of a sidewalk that it would be just as beautiful to me. Because it is the idea of what a wedding means that I care about. Not the rest, not... Not all these appearances."

Maura frowned at her own explanation and held back a breath. If she had dreamed about a princess wedding at some point in her life, she had quickly understood how – with Jane – she could not care less about it. She saw all these things as details; nice ones but not indispensable. It could have been raining cats and dogs on Friday – they could have been eating hot dogs – that it would still remain the most beautiful day of her life.

Because it was Jane and the rest didn't matter.

"Then why not going straight to the courthouse? That would have spared us the necessity of a specific outfit for the pre-wedding diner and another one for the ceremony!"

Maura stared at her mother incredulously. She blinked – swallowed hard – as she wasn't sure how to welcome such remark. Was Constance serious?

"What...?"

Before her daughter's confusion, the artist burst out laughing and shook her head. She took Maura in her arms; patted her back.

"It was a joke! You know that – even with the courthouse option – I would have worn two different outfits; one for the ceremony and one for the dinner afterwards. Now go tell Jane what you just told me. Life is too short for the two of you to remain like that on ridiculous misunderstandings. I guess – seeing how things have developped – that she needs you more than anything. Bring her the comfort she needs."


	11. How To Appreciate Family

_**Author's note: thank you very for all your reviews and suggestions!**_

**Chapter Eleven: How To Appreciate Family**

"You are going to wake them up... Pass me the salt. Do you need more flour?"

Jane opened an eye, certain of having heard Amy's voice somewhere in the background.

She gasped while realizing how close she was to Maura's face and decided to roll on her back to take a required distance to avoid bumping into her forehead.

Bad move.

"Ha!" She landed on the floor loudly, hitting the coffee table in the process and waking up Maura as well. Rubbing her shoulder, she growled then sat up with difficulty. "What the hell..."

And then she noticed her surroundings. She was not in their bedroom but in the living-room, facing half of her family as well as Maura's relatives being silently active in the kitchen. She blinked as a rather nervous laugh passed her lips to hit the air a bit too loudly to her taste.

"Hungover much?" Smirking, Amy stepped out of the kitchen area to walk to the living-room where she helped Jane to stand back up as the brunette had somewhat managed to get trapped between the couch and the coffee table in her fall.

The Italian smiled back but didn't reply. The truth was that she was not suffering at all from any sort of alcohol abuse. She was perfectly fine – a bit sore for having slept on the couch maybe – but quite surprised to actually see five Rizzolis being quiet in a kitchen. This was almost frightening.

"What time is it?"

A bowl of flour in hand, Apolline smiled at Maura and checked her watch. She looked joyful if not just amused by the scene.

"Almost 1pm. Sorry... We didn't want to wake you up, therefore the reason why we tried to remain quiet."

Maura widened her eyes in sudden panic. They had completely overslept. On the couch. Thankfully all dressed. She jumped on her feet and straightened her clothes before going to hug everyone with a fake casualness. Their respective families must have been witnessing them sleeping for at least a couple of hours. This was slightly embarrassing.

"You should have woken us... It is way too late."

Aunt Deirdre rolled her eyes – shook her head at Maura – and smiled before focusing back on what looked like small croissants. Twenty of them.

"You two need your beauty sleep. However, make sure that you don't miss your spa appointment. At what time is it, Angela?"

"3pm." The Italian matriarch winked at Maura. She walked to the oven and opened it to check large lasagna dishes.

"What are you all doing in the kitchen?" Her voice still hoarse, the medical examiner frowned at the scene; barely hiding her incomprehension. Even her mother was there; although she hadn't touched a single thing. Everything had its limits.

Constance was not a cook. However, she surely knew how to supervize kitchen tasks.

"Since we haven't found a new caterer for Saturday, we have come to the conclusion that we would all prepare something. Fifteen people in a kitchen... Enough for a wedding catering!" Giulia, one of Jane's cousins winked at Maura. "French, Italian, Irish and Scottish dishes! Might not be what you had wished for in the first place but we nonetheless hope you'll like it."

Speechless – touched by the gesture – Jane blinked and exchanged a confused look with Maura. It was the first time that both families met each other and in the most perfect silence to not wake them up, all had decided to work together to save the wedding delicate situation. She hadn't expected that from anyone.

"Where... Where are the guys?" Not that she wanted to make a sexist remark but the kitchen didn't count a single man.

"They went to order the wine. See, everything will be ready by tonight so now all you have to do is relax and enjoy your waxing session. If someone can actually ever enjoy that."

Amy's comment made the whole kitchen burst out laughing.

"Just a question, though... Why were you two sleeping on the couch? Too intoxicated to make it to your bedroom last night?" Apolline raised an eyebrow as her voice betrayed curiosity.

Maura looked at Jane then at her mother and peacefully shook her head.

"No. We came back late and had a little talk on the couch. I suppose we simply fell asleep after it."

She had arrived around midnight only to find Jane sipping on a tea in the kitchen.

She hadn't waited and had told her everything; all these words she had previously shared with her mother at the hotel. The brunette had felt reassured, touched as well. End of the misunderstanding.

...

"Gosh, Maur'... You know me, now. Do you really need to have me hairless, this weekend?" Making a face before the wax options – wrapped in a smooth bathrobe – Jane sighed heavily.

Sweet scents seemed to float around as candles had been lit everywhere and zen music was playing in the background. Through the floor-to-ceiling windows, Boston spread under their feet. The view was breathtaking.

Way more tempting than being waxed.

"I don't mind at all." Focused on her very own programme, Maura shrugged and patted gently Jane's hand.

"Really?!" The Italian blinked and looked with perplexity at the honey blonde. She bit her lips in concentration then shook her head. "Nah. I'll go for it. It's okay. It's supposed to be a special day and all. I don't see why I wouldn't wax when I usually do."

"Many women neither wax nor shave, you know."

"Yes, but I'm not French." Jane smiled and winked. "As much as this is probably a cliché. I did not notice anything special the last time I went to Paris, to be honest."

This time, Maura looked up from the brochure and turned around to face her lover. She squinted her eyes and wrinkled her nose in false disapproval. The flame of amusement in her eyes giving her too easily away.

"Are you telling me that – when you were in France – you checked out women's legs and armpits?"

Maura's question got welcomed by a long silence. Jane bit her lower lip – scanned the room in the hope that an esthetician would show up to take her away from all this – but had to face reality and its loneliness instead.

"It was in the summer. Many women wore dresses and skirts. I'm not a perv!"

"There is nothing wrong in appreciating the body, you know. I do it myself from time to time. This doesn't mean more than – for instance – enjoying a painting. Any piece of art. Body is art."

Astounded, Jane remained quiet for long seconds then finally burst out laughing. A couple of other customers turned around to look at her. She waved an apologetic hand at them.

"Nice way to tell me you like checking out girls."

A grin appeared on Maura's lips. She cast a glance at the large room then leaned over to murmur to Jane's ear; her hot breath brushing the Italian's skin.

"Although there is only one I want in the end: you."

Jane swallowed hard. She hadn't missed the mischievous tone, even less the way Maura's hand had remained a bit longer than necessary on her thigh; squeezing it tightly. She moved on her armchair – out of nervousness – and repressed a smile. This was not the right place to play this kind of game. Not the right time.

Although so typical from Maura to break the rules and heat things up at the most unexpected moment.

"Can't we just start – instead of the waxing – by this hot tub thing? You know the rose petal bath?"

Not missing Jane's implicit wish to find the nearest place where they would be left together – alone for an hour – Maura nonetheless decided to come back to scientific facts in spite of ruining way too suddenly the mood she had just settled.

"The bath is supposed to come at the end to make your skin rest after the different treatments. There is a reason why they put all these in a certain order, you know."

Jane gasped and tightened her grip on her bathrobe as if to suddenly cover herself. She pursed her lips and shook her head before hissing at the medical examiner.

"Maura Dorthea Isles Rizzoli-to-be, you are being cruel. How dare you start flirting with me if it's to announce three seconds after that nothing will happen before at least three hours? This is mean."

The honey blonde smiled at the remark. She knew that Jane was only joking and – truth to be told – she was glad to see her relax enough to give into that. She had missed it the past couple of days. A lot. It was now time for the two of them to enjoy what was left of this page of their life before starting a new one.

"Ahem..."

A voice made them both look up. An esthetician was standing in front of them and by the embarrassed smile that played on her lips, it seemed evident that she had had enough time to overhear most of the conversation.

"Jane? I will be in charge of your waxing. Will you please come with me?"

The Italian nodded - stood up - and began to follow the woman before turning around to point out the employee's legs at Maura.

"Great ones!" She winked, her murmur passing unnoticed to everyone but the scientist who burst out laughing.


	12. How To Keep Amy At Bay

_**Author's note: thank you very much for all the reviews!**_

**Chapter Twelve: How To Keep Amy At Bay**

"Hey, Giova-..." Jane stopped right in her tracks and blinked - completely taken aback - as she made it to the young man's garage. "I see you have company."

Amy was sitting on top of a car fender, nonchalantly smoking while her crossed legs revealed most of her right thigh. The socialite smiled at the brunette and winked. She seemed to be in her element as weird as it sounded. She probably had never visited a mechanic in her entire life. If she had just learned how to drive at some point.

"How was this spa, Jane?" Maura's cousin jumped off the Volvo she had previously settled on and - seductively, knowing that Giovanni was looking at her - approached the detective. "You are glowing." She turned around and smiled at the old family's friend. "Isn't she, Giovanni?"

The mechanic nodded enthusiastically and ran a hand through his hair.

"Oh yeah. She's kinda hot."

Jane rolled her eyes but – too shocked to lose her nerves – she simply walked to her car and cast a glance inside. _You missed it, Rizzoli, didn't you? Come on, admit it. It's okay. No worries. _She had just left the police car at the BPD – then waited for Maura to pick her up – before driving together to Giovanni's.

"Are you done with it?"

The young man nodded and approached the car before gently tapping on the fender. Yet he only had eyes for Amy who was sneaking around the garage; not caring much about the danger of smoking in such a place.

"Yeah, the baby's back on tracks. Ya can take it back home."

Relief.

Jane smiled brightly and watched how Maura stepped inside the garage. The honey blonde had been looking for a parking spot in the crowded street. Not the best time to drive in the area; the traffic was dense.

Just like the Italian a minute before, the medical examienr stopped as she noticed her cousin in the building and squinted her eyes at her. Jane held back a chuckle. Maura looked suddenly livid.

"Awesome. How much is it?"

The grin on Giovanni's face went on Jane's nerves. Jealousy mode: activated. She didn't appreciate much the way he literally oggled at Maura even if he did that with pretty much any woman. It might have been a complete failure, they both still had somehow gone on a date together and that was enough for Jane to shudder.

But the mechanic focused back on the brunette – made a face – and shook his head before sweeping it all away with a gesture of the hand.

"Nah. It's on me. Consider it as your wedding's present, 'kay? I didn't know what to get ya anyway."

Baffled, Jane cast a glance at Maura who had finally made it to her and frowned at Giovanni. There must have been a lot of things to repair on her car. It had cost a lot to the point that she had wondered if it weren't more interesting to simply buy a new one.

She frowned.

"Are you serious?"

The young man nodded and winked before his attention got caught again by Amy who had finally decided to join the little group. The socialite passed a hand on his arm - not so casually - to caress it.

"I have been observing him for the past hour and I can tell you that he is an excellent mechanic. I am sure that your car is going to work wonderfully from now on. Not surprising with all these very well shaped muscles... And the cute smile."

Jane made a face, which sharply contrasted with Giovanni's grin. Witnessing Amy flirt with him had never been on her bucket list. She cast a brief glance at Maura. The medical examiner looked on the verge of passing out. Somewhat, this reassured Jane. She knew that her lover had drawn a line under him once and for all.

"Well... Then I think it's time to go. Don't you think so, _Amy_?" Insisting on her cousin's name, the blonde shot her a death glare before pushing her towards Jane's car; not that she didn't want to talk about all this with the British woman but it turned out that the Subaru was closer and thus safer to take a well needed distance with Giovanni.

The mechanic pouted. Obviously, he hadn't planned this at all. As disappointment embraced his face he turned to Amy and forced a smile.

"Don't ya wanna go for a drink at a bar, beauty?"

Jane repressed a moan. They didn't have time for that. It was almost 6pm and they still had to make it back home to prepare their trip to Harvard on the very next day. Besides, she wanted to check all the dishes both families had prepared. She still hadn't got over the sweet gesture. It was touching.

She sighed.

"C'mon, Amy. Your whiskey's waiting by the fireplace at Maura's. Thanks again, Giovanni, and see you soon!"

The mechanic looked – disarmed – how Amy was forced into the car before Jane started the engine and drove off as Maura walked away from the garage. He blinked, ran a hand through his hair.

"And damn!"

...

As they passed the door of the Beacon Hill house, Maura grabbed her cousin by the sleeve forcing her thus to stop before stepping into the living-room where a dozen of people had sat down by the fireplace.

"How did you get Giovanni's garage address? I already told you that he was a lost cause. Believe me... Don't try anything with him. You will regret it."

The socialite rolled her eyes but the smirk that began to play on her lips didn't reassure Maura the slightest bit.

"I am sure that I would manage to make him forget about his licking antics. It didn't work for you because you were obviously and already in love with Jane. Anyway, you have always been more into women."

Maura gasped and shook her head vehemently. She took her coat off and hung it by the door before casting a last glance at the guests. She hissed at her cousin.

"This is not true! I have actually dated more men than women!"

"Is that supposed to reassure me?" Jane joined in but laughed away her very own question before planting a kiss on her partner's cheek. "She's right, Amy. Giovanni's a nice guy but he's also a total freak. I mean, you should have seen how Maura was when she stormed in at the BPD after her failed date."

Although when she turned around and walked into the living-room, Jane regretted to have made such remark about Maura's exes because the person who suddenly stood up from the couch was certainly one who belonged to her very own romantic past.

She swallowed hard and cast a panicked glance at her mother who simply shrugged away any kind of responsibility from all of this.

"Casey?"

A hand slid on her waist to hold her tight. She straightened up and tried to avoid Maura's gaze yet knowing that the honey blonde had suddenly turned very territorial. It wasn't justified, though. As the man smiled at her, Jane didn't feel anything for him at all. He belonged to the past and would always do.

She knew it.

"Hey... I'm in Boston for a few days and decided to stop by to congratulate the two of you. My dad told me about your wedding. It's on Saturday, right?"

Jane nodded. She felt a bit uncomfortable. Everyone was staring at the three of them as if certain of an imminent love triangle fight. It wasn't that she minded Casey's unexpected visit but it lacked the required intimacy for that.

The context was a very strange one.

"Thank you...?"

"This is really nice of you, Casey. How are you doing?" Maura's self-assured voice rose in the air with an incredible politeness that matched her smile. "When have you arrived in Boston?"

Jane blinked, unable to articulate more than three words in a row. Good thing that the scientist had no problem whatsoever to hold a semblance of conversation in spite of the awkwardness of such a moment.

"On Monday. I am actually coming back to the USA but making my way to the West Coast. I got a job position there, in San Diego."

Maura nodded, obviously more delighted than she should be. It was a stupid reaction but she could not help it. He had hurt Jane – a lot – and if only for that then she could never properly forgive him.

"Why since nobody seems eager to make introductions, here I go. I am Amy, Maura's cousin. Nice to meet you." The socialite stepped in and held out her hand to Casey who politely shook it.

"Hi."

Amy's grin lit up her graceful features – made her eyes shine like diamonds – and in all discretion she turned back to Jane and Maura to whisper to them.

"He is hot!"

Jane remained silent for long seconds – trying to handle the remark as she could – but finally gave in and turned around to address their relatives way too enthusiastically.

"Who wants a whiskey?"

After all, she surely needed one to forget about Amy's so-called American crushes.


	13. How To Find Maura Cute

_**Author's note: thank you very much for all the reviews, I really appreciate them.**_

**Chapter Thirteen: How To Find Maura Cute**

Rocked by the music – humming along – Maura closed her eyes and let the landscape disappear from her sight. It had snowed during the night, enough to cover the fields and the trees. Something about winter brought peace to her soul. The city seemed quieter by then, its noise stifled.

Everything pure, so pure.

"I like when you do that, when you sing."

Jane's remark pushed her to open back her eyes. She turned her head around and looked at her lover who was driving.

A timid smile played on the Italian's lips, echoing the shade of pink on her cheeks. The confession had come from nowhere but had warmed up Maura right away. She made a face, a bit unsure.

"I sing very badly. You are definitely the first one who tells me such thing."

Jane shrugged but repressed the desire to look at Maura. The roads were icy, too dangerous for such lack of attention. She knew way too well how a second could make a life tip over. She had seen it at work, in her early years when she wasn't a homicide detective yet and was sent to car crash scenes. She had learned quite quickly.

"You're not that bad on Norah Jones..."

Touched – and slightly amused – Maura leaned over to plant a delicate kiss on Jane's cheek. It was a strange sensation to suddenly find themselves alone in the car. Nobody had been able to come along as they had used the backseats for their dresses. Four days in a row with at least ten people around – at home – and suddenly a lonely drive. It came at the right time.

The lack of intimacy was starting to weight on them. Added to the stress of the wedding, it was not relaxing.

"Do you realize that – when we drive back to Boston on this exact same road on Sunday evening – we will be married? This is the strangest thought I have ever had." Maura's dreamy voice rose in the air as she stared a bit absendmindedly at the landscape speeding past through the window of the car.

"Strangest but nicest as well, I hope!"

The blonde laughed in silence and nodded. They had a couple of hours for themselves in Harvard – to check the last details – before their respective families to arrive. All of a sudden, she felt the need to have more. More time with Jane, more time for their couple.

"Do you think – at times – about what our life would be if we hadn't gone to Scotland?"

The medical examiner's question seemed to float in the car – somewhere above Norah Jones' voice – as Jane didn't reply immediately. The first buildings of Harvard appeared in the distance, covered of a delicate layer of white. Maura took a deep breath. There they were.

"All the time." The brunette frowned as if to hold back better a few tears. She couldn't help it. For some reason, such thought made her emotional. "All the things I would have missed..."

Maura smiled, closed back her eyes.

"I know. Talk about the delicacy of life..."

...

Everything was ready for the pre-wedding dinner that would take place in the evening. The tables – all of them – were already set up and the chef they had hired had arrived earlier in the morning. As much as none of them wanted to say anything – out of superstition – they had to recognize that the relative peace of the previous month seemed to have embraced them back and now everything was going smooth; perfect. Just as it should be.

Exit the issues with Jane's car – the water heater – and the caterer's last-minute change of plans. The wedding was on its way, slowly but surely.

"Dr. Fredericks!" Maura walked enthusiastically towards the professor as she saw him a bit further down the path she had taken with Jane through the quiet campus. "How are you? I am so happy to see you again. Please accept my apologies for such long silence. Work has been quite intense and... Well... I had to face some unexpected plans as well."

The man gladly accepted Maura's hug, smiling back in return.

"Unexpected plans? Nothing too serious, I hope! Harvard surely miss you. It was a pleasure to have a chance to work with you this summer."

As Jane reached the two of them, Maura passed her arm around the brunette's and laughed away the professor's question.

"Oh no. I mean, it is serious but in a good way. I am getting married tomorrow, here. With Jane." A smile of pride lit up her features; the kind of ones she had always assumed made her pass for an idiot but she couldn't help it. "Jane, this is Dr. Fredericks. You hadn't had a chance to meet this summer. Dr., this is Jane. My future wife..."

If the man got taken aback by the news, he didn't show it the slightest bit and warmly shook Jane's hand; his gesture echoing his grin.

"Why congratulations. Are you homicide detective Jane Rizzoli? I must admit that when we got to know that the Chief Medical Examiner of the Commonwealth would join us here, we looked a bit on line for information and I think I saw you in a couple of newspapers... Most of journalists seem to say that you are a brilliant detective!"

Jane cracked a smile as much as such kind of compliments always made her feel uncomfortable. If she loved her job, she had a hard time with the way media followed her around. Out of the BPD, it was tough to talk about investigations and the quality of her actions. She didn't know how to face all this.

"I am, indeed. And nice to meet you. Maura talked a lot about you."

That wasn't entirely true but still, Jane remembered how one of her partner's students had mentioned him. As a matter of fact, rumor had it that he and Maura might have been in a relationship. No need to allude to this now, though. Jane didn't always show tact but something told her that it was better to remain quiet this time around.

"Are you in a hurry? If not, let's go have a coffee. I know a nice little cafe right at the corner. So you are getting married in Harvard?"

Maura nodded and cast a brief glance at Jane. The brunette seemed to enjoy the professor's presence as much as she did. Unless it was just curiosity. The scientist wasn't sure how to interpret the smile on her partner's lips.

"Exactly. My father made it possible. We really wanted this place and not any another one." She turned to the Italian. "Would you like a coffee, honey?"

Taken aback by the pet name – Maura rarely gave into it in public – Jane nodded. They actually had some time as everything for the dinner was ready, up and running. The walk through the campus in the middle of winter was nice but the temperatures very low and she wouldn't have said no to some warmer place and a hot drink.

"Sure, let's go!"

Dr. Fredericks nodded before pointing at a building in his back.

"Perfect. Just give me five minutes to drop these books by my office. I will be right back."

Jane and Maura nodded, looking at him turn around and walk to the large – imposing – building in front of them. A few students had gathered by the steps, not really bothered by the snow that was now falling hard. As the profesor passed the large doors, Jane turned to Maura and squinted her eyes.

"So this is Dr. Fredericks? _The_ Dr. Fredericks?"

The medical examiner frowned – confused – and shrugged before rubbing her hands together as the cold made her shiver slightly.

"... Yes ...?"

Jane chuckled and looked down as if to calm down; to repress the desire to burst out laughing. She shook her head, bit her lips in disbelief.

"_The_ Dr. Fredericks people thought you were having an affair with?"

"Oh!" Maura smiled, suddenly understanding what Jane was talking about. She plunged her hands in the pockets of her coat – looked at the large building in front of her – then nodded. "Well yes. It is him, indeed."

Jane snorted.

"He could be your father! What were the students thinking? I mean, he looks as old as Tuppence... Who I can hardly picture out being with you in such way."

"That is because Tuppence is my uncle and one rarely dates a relative, am I wrong?" Maura took a deep breath and plunged one of her hands in Jane's own coat pockets to hold her lover's hand tight. "He is a remarkable professor, a very passionate and interesting colleague as well. I share his enthusiasm over forensics. I suppose it is the reason why students assumed that we might have been a bit more than just... That..."

"But he's twice your age, Maur'! Isn't he married?"

The scientist shrugged. Obviously, she didn't know much about his private life. They hadn't talked about such thing back in the summer time.

"I have no idea... But if I am certain of one thing, Jane – and that as much as I am in love with you – it is that love has no age."


	14. How To Not Panic

_**Author's note: Thank you very much for all the reviews, I highly appreciate them.**_

**Chapter Fourteen: How To Not Panic**

Cell phone in hand, Jane stepped into the living-room area of the suite and stopped by the couch where Maura had sat down to read a book.

"I told them to wait a little. According to the news, the roads are too dangerous for the moment so they are still in Boston."

The honey blonde looked up from her novel – nodded – and made some room on the small couch for Jane to sit down by her side. It was almost 3pm and the snow was now falling hard.

Way too hard for anyone to drive to Harvard.

"Perfect. Anyway the dinner starts at 9pm so needless to say that they have time to reach us here."

Jane put her cell phone on the coffee table and yawned. She was tired in spite of the coffee she had shared with Dr. Fredericks a couple of hours earlier. Caffeine hadn't kicked in. Unless it was just a side-effect of the stress she had felt these past two weeks. She hadn't been spared to say the least.

"You can lie down for a bit if you feel like to." Maura bent over the couch and caressed her partner's cheek before smiling brightly. "Take advantage of these extra hours of quietness."

For a long moment, the brunette stared – in silence – at the flames that were dancing in the fireplace as if lost in her thoughts. Her face impassive. She ended up wrinkling her nose, pursing her lips.

"Frost is on a big case."

Surprised, Maura straightened up and closed her book before abandoning it on the coffee table near Jane's cell phone.

They hadn't talked about work for a whole week. Such a long lapse of time that it almost sounded weird, all of a sudden. As if irrupting in a world deprived of crime scenes, violence. She hadn't forgotten about it but had easily – too much, perhaps – made abstraction of it.

"Did he call you?"

Jane shook her head and forced a laugh but its lightness fell flat. She rolled her eyes, sighed before settling further on the couch.

"No. I found about it on the web. I checked the news and it was there." She paused – hesitant – then gave in the inner thoughts that seemed to eat her up. "I don't like it. I don't like the fact he didn't call me. I'm his partner, dammit."

The semblance of a smile seemed to slide on Maura's lips but she chased it immediately. She knew what Jane meant, what she felt. The frustration that came within all this.

"You have a week off, to prepare your wedding. This is the reason why he didn't try to reach you... He knows that it isn't the right time for you. Monday will come soon enough. I am sure that within hours you will have caught back on it."

Jane nodded yet didn't look very convinced. She bit her thumbnail and frowned at Maura. As if not so sure of anything anymore.

"Do you think I should be at the BPD right now? Do you think taking a whole week was too much? You know it's not how I am. Usually... I feel like I've given up on the guys – on Frost – and it's not nice at all."

"Don't take it bad, Jane but... I am pretty sure that the BPD can handle cases when you aren't around to help. It is okay. Besides, you have been very active, this week. You can't forget your private life – not like that – just to focus on nothing but your job." Maura blushed and looked down. It was clear that the words she had used could have been directed to herself as well. She made a face. "We are... We are job freaks, aren't we?"

At least the question made Jane laugh. She stood up and went to pour herself a mug of coffee. Cast by the window: she could barely see the trees through the thick curtain of snow.

"Must be why we are about to get married. Nobody else can understand this. I mean – maybe it's a bit different for you – but for me... You're actually the first person I'm in a relationship with who is nice regarding this and understands what my job means to me." Mug in hand, she turned around to look at Maura and smiled. "Thank you for this."

The medical examiner squinted her eyes at her partner then ran her tongue over her lips. She moved on the couch, slightly.

"Are you experimenting pre-menstrual syndroms that you are suddenly emotional?"

Jane widened her eyes in utter disbelief. And yet, she should have known better. Now that she did think about it, it was Maura's signature from beginning to the end.

"What?! Maur'! Why are you... Why do you talk about that? Gosh I'm just trying to be nice and sincere, here. There's really no need to talk about women's cycles."

"But there is nothing wrong about it." The medical examiner shrugged, oblivious to the whole issue. She opened her arms – wide – to implicitly ask Jane to cuddle with her. "Then whatever is or is not going on in your uterus... Thank you."

The Italian obliged yet made a face.

"Just stop the uterus talk. Please."

...

The restaurant room looked perfect. Yet terribly empty. Trying to not show her slight anxiety, Maura walked to the big fireplace lit up for the occasion and started a breathing exercize. Anything to pass somewhat unnoticed.

Complete fail.

"They should be here by now!" Storming out of the kitchen in an elegant dress and wearing the new tweed jacket that Tuppence had offered her, Jane heavily sighed. She paced the room, walked to her partner. "It's almost 8.30pm!"

Maura held back a moan of despair and – reluctantly – looked up at Jane. They should have known better than to assume everything would now go smoothly until the ceremony; or even until the end of the weekend. Their respective families had left Boston a while ago and they yet still had to make it here.

"The roads aren't cut. We checked it. I mean, you did; by calling the police. They are probably just driving slowly to avoid having an accident. Let's just... Let's just sit here and have a drink, okay?"

Jane nodded yet casting a glance at the door every five seconds. They should have been drinking champagne with everyone by now. But the room was empty and terribly quiet. Actually, she had had a bad feeling around 6pm when she hadn't seen any car show up at the Bed & Breakfast. But too busy to think about it, she had taken a bath then got ready.

Slightly in vain though if she now checked the place surrounding her. Apart from Maura, there was nobody to compliment her on her efforts to look nice.

"Apolline, Amy... And now you. Is drinking the answer to all your issues in your family?" Hand in the air, Jane shook her head to apologize. "I'm sorry. I'm being an ass. You're right. Let's have some whiskey or whatever. Something strong. Please."

_Don't take it that bad, Rizzoli. You might end up in the Guinness Book Record for being the first and only bride in the world who celebrated her pre-wedding dinner alone. Being a precursor is good. It is not every day you can make history._

"They still have thirty minutes to arrive... And even if they make it here late, is it such a big deal? I prefer them to arrive at midnight and healthy than a police officer showing up in ten minutes to tell me there was an accident on the road."

Jane nodded but preferred to pass under silence Maura's uncertainty that showed up now clearly on her face. The honey blonde was freaking out as much as her. She just tried to hide it.

"We should have got married at the courthouse. I'm sorry, it's my fault. Because it was you, I... You know... I just wanted something big and memorable. Even if fifty people isn't considered that much for a wedding but you see what I mean."

Maura rolled her eyes – stood up – and walked to a large table where bottles of liquor were waiting for her a bit too easily. She grabbed an old whiskey and poured two glasses. If she wanted to really be honest then she had to admit that Jane's stress was cute; if only because it showed how much she cared for it. But the current situation was not something that made her smile; even less laugh.

Their wedding was turning into a farce and – as much as she tried to convince herself of the exact opposite – she knew where the truth lied; bitterly.

"Who would have assumed that some sort of a blizzard would fall over the area, today? It had not been announced, after all. The weather forecast had not seen this coming."

"Maura..." Not missing the weakness in her lover's voice, Jane walked to her then passed her arms around her frame before planting a tender kiss on her lips. One that she hoped comforting. "Maybe we can rent a sled and celebrate the dinner on the road, wherever everyone is."

Maura laughed lightly and shook her head at the ridiculousness of such idea. She shrugged and let her hands caress Jane's hips.

"Forget the sled. Let's build an igloo and spend the night in there. Just the two of us..."

But before she had a chance to add precisions about her sudden fantasy, the door flew open and Amy stormed in; cigarette in hand.

"Bring the booze! We are thirsty!"


	15. How To Talk In Public

_**Author's note: thank you very much for all the reviews; I think there are four or five chapters left.**_

**Chapter Fifteen: How To Talk In Public**

"I never thought that I was going to get married one day. Even less to Jane."

The crowd melted in a perfect 'aw' that made Maura blush and laugh nervously. She looked down – suddenly intimidated – and tried to calm down her heartbeats.

Talking in public was not something new to her but the people who were observing her right now had little to do with colleages. Same – if she dared to say so – about her speech. Why had life to be complicated when it wasn't related to medicine?

"I haven't written anything. As a matter of fact, I wasn't thinking about making a speech tonight but the truth is that... When I see you all gathered in this room – some coming from the other side of the world – then I want to say thank you. I want... I want to share endless anecdotes with you. The ones only Jane knows about for having lived them with me. I want... I want you all to understand what it means to me. How much this wedding is..." She shrugged, swallowed hard as a lump formed in her throat. "I lack words to tell you how I feel."

The brunette's hand suddenly pressed her forearm. She turned around and locked her eyes with the Italian's then bit her lower lip. Yet a smile pierced through it.

"Sometimes, I am not sure to understand how we made it here; how we made it so far. But there is not a single moment that I would take back from it. I am very proud of what we are, Jane... I owe you my life."

A delicate silence floated above the restaurant room for long seconds before the detective to react and plant a shy kiss at the corner of Maura's lips. The little speech had completely taken her aback but wrapped perfectly the nice pre-wedding dinner they all had shared together.

"And now... Let's dance! To the brides!" Laurence raised a glass of champagne before grabbing his bagpipes and being imitated by three other men.

Jane forced a smile and discreetly leaned over to talk to Maura.

"One of your cousins has a fiddle? Isn't that Irish?"

The medical examiner nodded as she settled back on her seat. She gladly accepted another glass of wine and brought it to her lips.

"It is. After all, I am mostly from Irish descendants. Although, don't repeat it. I don't want to create some sort of conflict now."

"But they're both gonna play... Different stuff... At the same time?" Jane made a face and lowered her tone of voice. "It's not I don't like music, Maur', but one genre at a time."

Too late. Although to Jane's utter uncertainty – the combination of both instruments actually gave a very nice effect to the whole. Unless she was just too drunk and happy to realize how awful it was going.

...

"So. Does anyone need advices about marriage? I'm starting to have some experience on the matter, actually."

Apolline laughed at James' remark and shook her head before grabbing the bottle of champagne out of Amy's hands.

"We have been married for six months, dear. You are a little newbie at this game." A bit tipsy, she turned to Jane and Maura then winked. "Don't listen to him. He will only say silly things. What do men know about marriage, anyway? You will do well without any. Hahahaha!"

Jane chuckled slightly, more amused by the idea of witnessing an intoxicated Apolline than by her words themselves. She cast a glance at her own cousins; the ones who were more or less her age. Everyone seemed to get along in spite of coming from different worlds, different spheres.

She was relieved.

"About this Casey..." Tapping playfully on her pack of cigarettes, Amy pouted and went to sit a bit closer to Jane.

"Oh God. Will you stop it, now?" Maura rolled her eyes and heavily sighed. She squinted her eyes at the campus in the dark; somewhere in the distance, in front of her. It was late and she was cold – if not just freezing – but for nothing in the world she would have gone to bed now. She liked it the way it was; chilling out in the middle of the night. "You know, there is a reason why she broke up with him."

"Of course. She went for you instead. But that doesn't mean anything. I mean..." Amy frowned and shook her head at Jane, suddenly uncertain. "He wasn't... Satisfying?"

"Amy!"

But the socialite dismissed Maura's complain and bit her thumbnail; obviously waiting for Jane to answer her.

Embarrassed at the most, the brunette laughed and cleared her voice yet not saying the slightest thing. Maura shook her head, feeling sorry.

"He err... Casey... How to say this...?"

Amy blinked yet lit a cigarette. She seemed to have all her time, especially seeing the confusion on her face.

"What? He isn't good in bed?"

"My sister is obsessed. Don't pay attention to her." William laughed – actually not bothered by the questions asked by Amy – and winked at Jane's cousins.

"Why you can say it, Jane. I guess it is all fine by now. Anyway, he isn't even here." Maura turned to Amy and made a face.

"Ah, I see. You don't need to go to the bathroom anymore to finish it by yourself, am I right?" The socialite nodded and patted Jane's knee. "We all went through this at some point. Mister Muscle is not always token of quality. Let's just be honest, here. Appearances can be tricky. My cousin, however..."

This time, Jane simply burst out laughing. She didn't own Amy's carefree attitude when it came to sex but she nonetheless found the woman entertaining in all her exhuberance. She accepted a beer that Frankie handled her.

"Here's to Casey and his... Very relative skills!" Barely believing her own boldness, she raised the bottle and winked at Maura before kissing her loudly on the cheek. "And to you. You are worth all the Caseys in the world, believe me."

"Technically I could have attended your wedding with someone. Is it too late to call him? Unless... What is his name, again? The face licker mechanic?"

Maura straightened up. _Your time to feel uncomfortable, Isles._

"Giovanni..." Her whisper only found echo in Amy's loud voice. So much to try to pass unnoticed.

The socialite nodded and formed small hearts with the smoke of her cigarette.

"Maybe he is available tomorrow. Believe it or not but being the one who is always single starts... Weighing a bit. I could count on Maura, before. Now I am just going to be the odd ball in this oh so dysfunctional family."

"Oh but you already are, sweetheart." Apolline shook her head at her cousin and stood up. She took James' hand in hers. "Well, it is a bit late now and I guess we have a wedding to attend tomorrow so it is time for us to wish you all a good night."

Little by little, everyone began to leave until Jane and Maura finally found themselves alone on top of the stairs that led to the Bed & Breakfast. Cuddled against each other – looking for heat through their embrace – they stared at the night without moving an inch. Harvard was peaceful, the snow – pale layer of white in the dark – seemed to glow all around.

"It is going to be beautiful outside tomorrow..." Maura's whisper barely reached Jane's ear. She was too cold to properly speak.

"But freezing!"

Not really bothered by the answer, the scientist sat up and took a deep breath. She closed her eyes, her face suddenly lit up by a serene smile.

"The Queen of the Dead is turning into The Ice Queen. Fair evolution, some would say."

Jane frowned, uncertain of the way she was supposed to interpret Maura's words. Her tone had not been clear enough; an ounce of bitterness floating above it.

"You don't like this nickname, do you?" Stupid question. She was herself aware of her own ones – the whole series her colleagues had come up with – and they all went on her nerves. "People are not being mean to you when they give you these, you know. It is just teasing."

Maura pouted – pondering her lover's words – and finally stood up before turning around towards the door of the Bed & Breakfast.

"I guess I have got used to it and – against all expectations – I grew attached to it. Just don't say it to anyone. I am too afraid that they would look for another one, just to annoy me."

Jane stood up and passed a hand on Maura's nape. She gently caressed her hair; passing her fingers through the blond curls. She bent over and let the scientist's scent go to her head. Bewitchingly.

"I owe you my life as well..." Her murmur disappeared in a kiss.


	16. How To Start A New Page

_**Author's note: thank you very much for all your reviews and suggestions. **_

**Chapter Sixteen: How To Start A New Page**

"Here we are." Jane took a deep breath – turned around to look at Maura – and burst out laughing as she locked her eyes with her partner's.

The night had been short. Curiously enough. She had never imagined that the perspective of getting married would prevent her from sleeping. She respected the idea of marriage – and liked it, or else she would not have proposed Maura – but she saw it as something rather simple. Symbolical – and important – but quite simple in the end. Yet she had barely managed to close her eyes as a thousand wonders had bumped into each other in her mind.

They weren't doubts. Just anecdotes coming back, by waves. A life made of choices, different paths taken.

"It is strange, isn't it?" Sipping on her tea and wrapped in a bathrobe, Maura laughed away that odd feeling floating around. She grabbed a muffin and eagerly bit into it. "I would have never imagined a year ago that we would be here, today."

Jane let her hand caress her dress almost absentmindedly. She hadn't dared to put it on yet. She had been looking at it for so long that the piece of clothing now looked impressive, intimidating. Besides, she was still having breakfast so – with the luck she had – it was better to make sure that she really was over with jam before trying it on.

"Aren't you surprised that ma' didn't try to bother us, this morning? I would have actually bet that... I don't know... That she would just go on my nerves as she usually does."

"You threatened her of cancelling the wedding if she did, Jane." Maura made a face and repressed a yawn.

The brunette nodded – stood up – and looked around.

"Okay. True enough." She went to the desk where the wedding bands were sagely waiting in their respective boxes. She opened hers. "And we all know she has been waiting for this moment since the day she gave birth to me."

A knock on the door interrupted the conversation. Smirking, Maura went to open; mug in hand. It was true that – against all expectations – nobody had come so far to see if they were doing alright. Or at least not until now.

"Amy. Good morning. What can I do for you?"

Leaned against the door frame, the socialite winked at her cousin then motioned at someone in her back to approach. Two of Jane's relatives appeared as well as Apolline.

"It was really nice of you to decide to get married in Harvard but it is bloody impossible to find at least one store that sells Chanel nail varnish which we absolutely need."

Maura blinked, pouted.

"Which color?"

Amy rolled her eyes and made her way into the room; soon followed by the three other women. She waved at Jane – turned around – and smiled at Maura.

"Red, of course!"

...

Sat in an armchair, Maura repressed a sigh and abandoned the contemplation of her cousins to look at Jane who was sitting by her side. The four women had been in the room for thirty minutes now – fighting over nail varnish color – and none of them seemed to feel the urge to leave any time soon.

She might love having relatives around, it was nonetheless not really how she had imagined to get ready for her wedding. It was too noisy. Not intimate enough.

"Hey, Yankees. Shouldn't you get ready?" Amy looked up from her manicure and smiled at Maura. "I don't have all my time to take this selfie of us with the two of you in your wedding dresses so... Come one, hurry up. Although, no. Wait. I need to go to the bathroom first."

Maura laughed away the socialite's monologue and finally stood up to go grab her dress. She cast a glance at Jane. The Italian looked terrified.

"Is there something wrong?" The honey blonde's voice resounded low – a bit worried – but warm.

Jane shook her head and hesitantly put a foot on the ground before standing up as well. She walked to Maura and shrugged. Their cousins were barely paying attention to them, giggling around like a bunch of school girls. They seemed happy. And light.

Jane felt anxious and on the verge of passing out.

"You look tense." Maura passed a hand – one she hoped soothing enough – on her lover's shoulders and massaged them a bit before letting her lips approach Jane's ear. "Relax. I promise that I won't – and you know that I can't lie – say no."

"Oh come on, girls. Hurry up a little!" Back from the bathroom, Amy shook her head in despair at both women then turned around to address the rest of the crowd. "Apolline and Gina, time to help Maura. Giulia... Come with me, darling. We need to get Jane ready." She grabbed a bottle of wine that she had ordered a bit earlier then took a sip before smiling at the future brides. "Believe me, I have attended enough weddings to know that you will thank me afterward for helping you in these very special moments. We will leave you alone right after. Where is your dress, Jane?"

The detective – completely taken aback – grabbed the piece of clothing and took it out of its white protection. But as doing so, her smile suddenly froze. She stopped – looked around – and sniffed the dress.

"It smells of strawberry."

Already in the hands of Apolline and Gina, Maura's eyes widened. She turned around before casting a desperate look at Amy. Many things had happened within the last twenty-four hours. Too many, to the point that she had forgotten about the strawberry juice incident. After all, once it had got back under control, she hadn't really cared about it anymore.

"Chanel?" Amy forced a smile.

Jane laughed and let the socialite – as well as Giulia – help her with the dress. Once on, she shook her head at Maura's cousin.

"Do you have a deal with Chanel that you need to wear it from head to toe? Or better said, from nail to... Clothes?"

Maura's giggles in her back resounded loud, contrasting sharply with Amy's horrified face. Cigarette in hand, the British woman put a hand on her hip and raised an eyebrow in disapproval.

"Yankee... A wedding without Chanel is not a wedding I attend. Now tell me what you want to do with your hair or I start calling you Strawberry Shortcakes."

An hour later – and by some magic Jane would never be able to properly explain – she got to find herself by the doors of an old bandstand of the campus reconverted for the occasion in their very own ceremony place. In a world of white, the snow glowing everywhere around.

Small bouquet of holly in hand matching Maura's and contrasting softly with the champagne shade of their dresses – braving the cold with her short cashmere cape – she took a deep breath and closed her eyes. The world had turned quiet. She could feel Maura's presence by her side but all the tumult of the past hour had suddenly vanished and she was now embracing the last minutes of a page they were about to turn. Together.

"Do you think that it is going to change everything?"

Maura's question hit the air with a delicate honesty. Jane smiled – laughed actually – and shrugged. She bit her lips, remembering too late that she was wearing lipstick.

"Damn." She pressed her lips together in the hope to save whatever was left of Amy's work before focusing back on the honey blonde's question. "I don't think so. I don't know... Do you?"

A bit in disbelief, Maura turned around and frowned at Jane.

"Why of course not. I wouldn't be asking you if I actually had the answer. This was not a rhetorical question, Jane."

The Italian rolled her eyes.

"Do you really think it's the best moment to go all philosophical and existential, Maur'? Damn, ask me again in five years. Maybe I'll be able to tell you by then. All I know is that – right now – there's a whole group of people waiting for us and maybe that's what we should focus on. Gosh... You really know how to freak me out at the worst moment."

Maura gasped – widened her eyes – and gently snapped her partner's shoulder.

"How dare you! I haven't stopped telling you to relax this week. Take this as a last-minute thought." She adjusted her dress, lifted her chin in defiance. "Perhaps people should actually wonder about it before getting married. That would spare them a divorce."

"See. And now you're talking about divorces. You're going to jinx it." Troubled, Jane made a step on the side. She slid – lost her balance – and landed heavily in the snow.

Shocked, Maura remained still for long seconds before finally bursting out laughing.

"Ah great. Perfect." Mumbling between her teeth, Jane tried desperately to stand up on her own but the ground was sliding too much. She gladly accepted the blonde's hand and looked at her dress. "How can you laugh?"

"It must be the nerves, I am sorry. Although you have to recognize that it is rather funny. A second ago, you were talking about being jinxed and there you are; falling right in the snow. Good thing you chose to wear satin." Maura adjusted the piece of clothing."It is spotless. You are perfect, don't be worried."

A smile appeared timidly on Jane's lips. She shrugged – straightened up – and grabbed her partner's hand. Ready to enter the small building.

"No more existential question, okay?"

Maura nodded.

"Obviously."


	17. How To Steal A Kiss From Jane

_**Author's note: thank you very much again for all your reviews and suggestions; I really appreciate them all.**_

**Chapter Seventeen: How To Steal A Kiss From Jane**

"I always knew she was the right one for you. Congrats, Jane." Frost cast a glance at Maura who was talking to a little girl a bit further in the room and smiled at Jane before hugging her tight.

The Italian gladly accepted the gesture. Frost knew that he was more than a mere colleague for her – and vice versa – even if they never really openly said anything most of the times. Blushing slightly, The Italian let a timid smile play on her lips and adjusted her dress; out of nervousness. It was strange to be there standing by him; a wedding band on her finger.

Yet she had never felt so right.

Running her tongue over her lips, she bent over and raised an amused eyebrow at her colleague just as one of Maura's cousin was passing by.

"Maybe your very own future wife is in this room, right now. Make your pick: Italian, Irish, French, Scottish... You should be able to find someone among this crowd."

"Like Amy?"

Taken aback, Jane straightened up and swallowed hard. She had certainly not expected that. Frost's ex-girlfriends had very little to do with the socialite. To not simply say absolutely nothing.

_And yet... Who knows, Rizzoli. Might be love at first sight. Now that'd be... Big?_

"Really?!"

Frost burst out laughing and winked at Korsak as the sergeant approached, glass of champagne in hand.

"No, not really. She's rather terrifying, actually."

Seeing that Korsak was now listening, Jane preferred to put an end to the conversation and focus on something a bit less personal. The truth was that she was reassured by Frost's words. It was not that she didn't like Amy but she could hardly picture the British woman with her colleague. Besides, Amy belonged to London. Or better said, London belonged to Amy.

"So what's the big next step for the two of you? A child?"

The sergeant's question made Jane smile. She cast a glance at Maura who was now in charge of TJ and Rose, her very own little cousin; barely older than Tommy's daughter. It was a sweet image yet the brunette knew better than to lose herself in fantasies she didn't want to name.

"I don't think so. We have enough with the two of you. And Frankie... And Tommy!" She laughed – loudly – then accepted a glass of champagne that Laurence held out to her. "Oh, Laurence... Please let me introduce you to my colleagues – and friends – Vince and Barry." She turned to them. "This is Laurence, one of Maura's uncles."

"From Plockton, Scotland!" Laurence gladly shook hands with both men even if his own remark – as true as it was – sounded pointless considering that he was wearing a kilt; piece of clothing that gave away rather easily his nationality.

Seeing that Laurence was in good hands, Jane excused herself and rushed to help Maura who seemed to be a bit overwhelmed by the situation.

"How are you doing, Mary Poppins?" She passed an arm on the honey blonde's waist and smiled at her. Brightly. Foolishly. Yet her happiness was simply echoing the scientist's.

Rose in her arms, Maura turned around and shrugged; uncertain of how she was supposed to present the situation to Jane.

"Well... I wouldn't say no to a little bit of help!"

The brunette nodded and grabbed TJ in her arms – the little boy repeating over and over how pretty she was – before making her way through the crowd of guests towards Lydia's table.

"Express delivery!" But as she put TJ down, Rose seemed to disagree and tended her arms towards him. Jane chuckled. "Looks like my nephew got a girlfriend..."

Lydia and Tommy laughed before Annabelle – Rose's mother – showed up to grab her daughter and laugh at the scene as well.

"Is everything fine?" A peaceful smile lighting up her features, Maura looked at their guests before holding Jane's hand tightly.

They hadn't had a second for themselves since the ceremony. The dinner was now in full swing - after a whole cocktail afternoon - and would probably last until very long in the night.

The bare touch of their intertwined hands – stolen kisses here and there – were the only gestures of affection they allowed themselves in spite of running out of time for something more intimate. A proper face-to-face to fully realize that they had finally got married. To fully embrace it.

"It's all going very fine, thanks a lot! And beautiful dresses. I love them!" Lydia nodded – ecstatic – before turning towards Tommy. "I guess we will get some inspiration from you for our wedding..."

Jane repressed a chuckle. She still had a hart time believing that her brother was getting married. As a matter of fact, she still couldn't believed that he had a child. _Some things will always amaze you – or scare you? - Rizzoli, let's face it._

"You will have to come home at some point to talk about it. We have plenty of addresses you might want. There is this delicious..."

But before Maura had a chance to finish her sentence, Amy's voice resounded loud in her back and within a second she found herself propelled towards the center of the room for a Scottish jig.

"I am wearing stilettos, Amy... This is a very bad idea. You would be surprised to learn about the amount of sprained ankles that..."

The socialite pressed her index finger on her cousin's mouth and shook her head. She was not in the mood to talk; just to shout out to people around. Side-effect of the drinks she had had.

"Move your lovely ass over here, Yankee. And dance with your wife!"

Realizing that Amy was talking to her, Jane shook her head then made a step backwards. She could feel the wave of heat that had rushed up her face and the gaze of several people turned towards her. There was not a single chance in the universe that they would witness her dance a jig.

Absolutely none.

And yet. Before she had a chance to react, someone had grabbed her hand and she was there – in the middle of the circle – among all the dancers. She turned her head around to see who had pushed her there and blinked; utterly surprised. By her side – and dancing proudly next to Maura with such typical elegance Jane envied at times – Constance smiled at her before bursting out laughing.

"Come on, Jane! I know that you learned the steps in Scotland. Show everyone how you are doing for an American."

"Oh God..." The brunette mumbled between her teeth and began to dance, trying to ignore how her brothers – or even Frost and Korsak – were probably filming the scene to put it then online.

Yet the Scottish clan was part of her family, now. She didn't want to offend them. No matter she could already hear the jokes of her colleagues when she passed the doors of the BPD on Monday morning.

Ten minutes later – breathless and in need to sit down – Jane reached the buffet and poured herself a glass of water. Two hands landed on her waist, soon followed by a kiss on her neck.

She turned around and flashed a bright smile at Maura.

"Are you okay?"

The honey blonde nodded and grabbed both her hands to lead her outside. They made their way – almost passing unnoticed – through the crowd and stepped in the night. Harvard was quiet, now. Peaceful.

"It's freezing, Maur'. Maybe we should have taken our..."

A kiss stole away her words; a deep – long – awaited one. She gave in instantly and passed her arms around the medical examiner's neck as she felt her push her against the brick wall in her back. Their moans echoed in the darkness, matching the rustling of their dresses as they reduced the space – yet almost unexistent – between their respective bodies.

"Who cares about pneumonia..." Her forehead leaned against Maura's, Jane laughed brushing her wife's lips of hers then bent over for another kiss. One that sent shivers down her spine as this little voice in her head kept on telling her that she had married Maura.

"I love you." The honey blonde locked her eyes with Jane's and giggled before biting her lower lip under the pale moonlight. "You have no idea how in love with you I am..."

The detective smirked – looked aside pretending to think hard – then squinted her eyes playfully at Maura.

"Believe it or not but I might actually have an idea."

Yet before she had a chance to add anything, Maura grabbed her left hand and brought it there to her heart; their wedding bands touching each other, over the dress.

She swallowed hard as a veil of tears began to appear in her eyes; making them shine in the darkness of the night.

"You are my whole life, Jane. Please, never forget that."


	18. How To Spend The Night In Maura's Arms

_**Author's note: thank you very much for all the reviews!**_

**Chapter Eighteen: How To Spend The Night In Maura's Arms**

The warmth of the bed sheet brushed her skin deliciously. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes as if to enjoy even more the comforting feeling. A smile on her lips echoed Maura's hand as it slid on her hip to rest there.

She bent over and captured the honey blonde's lips in a deep kiss. Not so long, though. As she broke apart, Jane pouted and locked her eyes with Maura's hazel ones.

"You're tired, aren't you?" Her hoarse voice betrayed her very own fatigue.

Maura shrugged timidly until her pout melted into a timid laugh and she finally nodded.

"I am dead tired!"

Jane rolled her eyes and embraced the relief brought by such confession. It was almost 4am and the day had been long; intense, to say the least. They had got married. The whirl of feelings hadn't gone yet and was still carrying the exhilaration of their grins.

"Gosh I was afraid it was only me and I didn't want you to take it bad." The brunette laughed and let her wife settle against her; in her arms. Absentmindedly, she began to caress the blond curls; staring at the wall in front of her. "Do you mind if we just..."

Maura shook her head – giggled – then planted a kiss on Jane's shoulder blade.

"No! To be honest, I would be worried to fall asleep right in the middle of it if we gave it a try. I am sorry, though. It is probably not the honeymoon you were thinking about."

Jane laughed. Considering that she was as exhausted as the medical examiner, she didn't really need apologies.

"Let's just accept we're an old couple who doesn't even make love anymore to celebrate their wedding."

Maura rolled on her back – turned the light off – and settled back in Jane's arms. Her leg slid there, just between her lover's ones. Everything was so quiet all of a sudden that it was almost deafening. She still could hear the music in her head, the laughter; the clinking of glasses. Her loud happiness. The whole day was speeding past in front of her eyes.

"How about tomorrow morning? Anyway, we have all our life to celebrate it... But just don't say to Amy that nothing happened tonight. We both know what her reaction could be."

Jane's laugh melted in the kiss that she planted on Maura's temple. She closed her eyes again before settling in the crook of the scientist's neck.

"I know better now than telling _anything_ to Amy. And when I say anything, I mean it."

With a sleepy voice, Maura moaned away the remark.

"I see that you are learning fast."

...

Jane let Amy lead her to the center of the room where most of their relatives and friends had already gathered. The socialite abandoned her there – right in the middle – then yelled at Maura.

"Will you drop this French toast already, Yankee? Goodness, I don't want to know what you did all night and morning long that you suddenly need to eat so much. Come and join us, now! Just in case you haven't noticed it... We are waiting."

Maura blushed – reluctantly put back the food in her plate – and walked to the other side of the Bed & Breakfast restaurant for a picture of their whole group. She pulled on her cardigan and adjusted her skirt.

"We went to bed at 4am, Amy. It is 10.30am... Believe me, we haven't done much." Maura hissed between her teeth – as discreetly as possible – as she squeezed in between her cousin and Jane. "We actually lack of sleep. Right, honey?"

Jane passed a hand on her nape and nodded at Maura. Not that they hadn't caught up – as promised – once waking up and even twice if she took into account their rather intimate encounter after in the shower but she would probably need more than one cup of coffee to make it through the day.

She also missed the contact with Maura's flesh, the warmth of her kisses; her short breath dying in a wave of whispers against her shoulder as her nails dug half-moons in her back, carried away by pleasure.

If it weren't for their respective families and friends, Jane would have grabbed the blonde by the hand – without any warning – to retreat then to their bedroom for the rest of the day.

But reality sadly had a different schedule to offer.

She thanked the owner of the Bed & Breakfast who had taken the pictures and checked them right away along with half of the group that wanted to make sure each of them didn't look ridiculous. It was a nice morning, a joyful one. In spite of the lack of intimacy, Jane had to recognize that it had been quite a while since she had felt so fine surrounded by her beloved ones.

"Is everyone coming for a morning walk through the campus after breakfast?" Repressing a yawn, Maura walked back to her table to finish her meal.

She was pouring herself another glass of fresh orange juice – chatting lightly with her mother who had sat next to her – when Amy literally jumped on Jane's lap to catch her attention. Taken aback by the sudden invasion – yet a bit less than the Italian herself – Maura frowned at her cousin.

"My wife isn't a seat, Amy."

The socialite shrugged; not really bothered by the idea. On the contrary.

"Her lap is rather comfortable, though." She turned around and winked at Jane before waving a bit nonchalantly at Constance who had stood up to go and talk to Angela.

"I know that her lap is comfortable. I have tried it more than once."

"Oh God." Mortified, Jane looked down and tried to overcome Maura's sudden oversharing.

Amy didn't miss the hint - as expected - and smirked at the brunette before focusing back on her cousin.

"I bet you did. Twice this morning." She grinned. "Anyway, I am not here to talk about your sexual life. As much as I am sure it is highly interesting... No. I am afraid that my sudden presence at this table is a lot more selfish." Widening her eyes to match her grin, Amy grabbed Maura's hand and patted it. "You will never believe what happened to me last night."

"You found the man of your dreams?"

Jane's question got welcomed by a loud laughter from the socialite who ended up raising a bit of a worried eyebrow when she realized that the brunette was only half-kidding.

"We both know that I am certainly not looking for him, don't we? I mean, you are a detective. I am going to assume that you came to this conclusion six months ago or so when you met me."

Jane hesitated for a few seconds but had no other choice than to finally nod. She had to be sincere with Amy. It was obvious that the British woman was not really looking for anything serious and she did know socialite grinned then focused back on Maura.

"I didn't get laid, forget this option. But I am only leaving tomorrow so I still have hopes something might happen. I mean... There must be an American somewhere interested in me if only for an hour or so!" Amy laughed and swept away her very own statement with a gesture of the hand then turned serious again. "Something better – or at least different – happened to me last night. Some sort of a... Vision!"

Maura squinted her eyes at her cousin. Somehow, she had difficulties to follow her logic. Politely – yet completely lost – she smiled at her cousin then cast a desperate glance at Jane who had quietly managed to grab a French toast in spite of Amy's presence on her lap and had resumed eating.

"You had a vision? Last night?" The medical examiner marked a pause, tilted her head on a side. "I am starting to wonder if you aren't taking something illegal. Amy, are you on drugs? Unless it is alcohol."

Amy pursed her lips – vaguely annoyed – then shook her head. She stole a slice of bread from her cousin's plate then bit into it.

"The only drug I am on is nicotine. You know that I have never been into anything else. Anyway, my clean state is not important because... Drum rolls... I have decided to buy an apartment in Boston!"

The British woman's grin contrasted with Maura's incredulity and Jane's utter surprise.

"You are moving to the United States?"

"Of course not! I would never be able to say goodbye to London entirely. No." The socialite shook her head. "But I am buying a little something to stop by from time to time. Boston is welcoming and it really did strike me last night: I am _made_ for this city. Like... Twice a year."

"You got news from Giovanni, didn't you?" Jane raised an eyebrow at Amy and waited.

For barely two seconds.

Maura's cousin took her cell phone out of the pocket of her jacket and opened her list of contacts as a grin played on her lips.

"From Giovanni – Alex – and Leo. If this isn't a sign that Boston is waiting for me then I don't know what it is."

"Who are Alex and Leo?" Maura frowned and made a face. She was certain that she had never heard about any of them.

"Alex is the barista at this coffee store you took me to and Leo is the dry-cleaner's brother we..." As if stung by a bee, Amy straightened up and avoided Jane's gaze. It was better to focus on Maura for that part. "Your dry-cleaner we met the other day in the street. You know, on Wednesday."

Maura nodded - embarrassed - and rolled her eyes. At this pace, Amy would know every single man in Boston before they hit Christmas.


	19. How To Never Forget A Few Things

**Chapter Nineteen: How To Never Forget A Few Things**

**Epilogue - five years later**

As they entered the building, she spotted Frost on her left. Everyone had turned around to look at them walk towards the officer but – for some reason – the young detective was the one she had focused on while holding Maura's hand tightly. The bagpipes resounded loud in the old bandstand yet barely covering the loud beats of her heart. She wasn't nervous but emotional.

Because she was finally getting married to Maura.

They stopped by the officer and turned around to face each other.

As she locked her eyes with Jane, the honey blonde forgot the rest; their guests, the snow outside. The Scottish music fading away for the moment everyone had waited for all morning. Clutched to her bouquet of holly, she let herself – consciously enough – fall into an ocean of memories from the moment she had met Jane to this day when they would wear matching wedding band and seal their union for the rest of their life.

_Life is delicate and fragile, Isles. Take great care of it, cherish it. _

Their I do hit the air with grace before floating around peacefully, with great honesty. The silence – all around – embracing the emotion betrayed by their shaking voices, their shaking hands. Her ring brushed her finger, soon followed by an imperceptible caress of Maura's thumb as she let go of her wife's hand.

There they were.

As she bent over to kiss Maura, Jane focused on the way the blond curls framed the scientist's face; the delicate hairdo that she had chosen. It was simple yet perfect for an image that she wanted to remember till the end.

_You will never forget this moment, Rizzoli. Engrave it in your mind, in your heart. It is now yours for the eternity. Yours and Maura's only._

"Jane?" Pause. "Jane! Wake up, you are going to be late."

The brunette rolled on her side and squinted her eyes as she opened them only to face the shadow of her wife in the window frame. She moaned, ran a hand through her hair.

"What time is it?"

Maura checked her watch and sat down on the bed to plant a warm kiss on her wife's cheek.

"11am. You asked me to wake you up before I go. Breakfast is ready. We made pancakes." Before a complete lack of reaction from the Italian, Maura frowned and cleared her voice. "Jane? Come on, wake up!"

The detective finally sat up but jumped of surprise as the siren of a firefighter truck resounded loud in the room. She turned around and lifted her pillow to grab the toy then shook it to make it stop. In vain. She moaned.

"Damn these things."

Maura chuckled – grabbed the toy – and took the batteries off.

"You can always count on Finn to drop his trucks in the most unusual spots of the house!" She let an amused smile play on her lips before standing up again to adjust her clothes. "I have to go, now. The lunch with the senator is at 1pm and I need to stop by my office before. See you later."

With a quick kiss on her wife's lips, Maura exited the room leaving Jane to herself and the sensation her dream – the reminiscence of their wedding ceremony – had stirred up.

They had married five years earlier and yet the mere detail was still as vivid in the Italian's head. It came back – from time to time – in her most serene nights; the softest trick of her subconscious. A lot of things had happened since this weekend in Harvard.

Some planned, others a lot less.

Like their four-year-old son. They had changed their mind about maternity and parenthood. Quite suddenly.

She had carried Finn for nine months before giving birth to him, proving to everyone – to herself – that she could conciliate a demanding job and a family life like anyone else. He was a bright little boy who warmed up their darkest days and softened their doubts. The best addition to their life.

The best thing she had done so far besides marrying Maura.

Still a bit sleepy after a rough night at the BPD, Jane stood up and walked downstairs to the kitchen only to come to face Amy. The socialite was sitting on a stool, reading newspapers.

"Good morning, Yankee."

Jane waved at her and walked like a zombie to the coffee pot for a well needed mug. She took a sip and finally cleared her voice; repressing a yawn.

"When did you arrive? I didn't know you'd planned to come to Boston, this month."

Amy put the newspapers down on the counter and shook her head at Jane before adjusting her new pair of Chanel glasses on her nose.

"I wanted to see my favorite little cousin in the whole wild world. Don't say that to Apolline. That could cause a serious family drama if she happened to learn that her daughter – Sophie – is not first on my list. What can I say? Finn is witty. I like this."

Jane nodded. Her son surely owned some repartee.

"I have to be at the courthouse by noon something, the judge required to see me but if you want we can have lunch after this. I should be available around 1pm and I have the day off."

The grin on Amy's lips sealed the deal.

Jane was glad to have her around. If they had hit it off way back then in Scotland, she had learned to appreciate the socialite even more once she had married Maura as the British woman had bought an apartment in Boston and came to visit now quite often. Amy was exhuberant – funny – and honest. Smart as well.

Somehow, she reminded Jane of Constance.

"So... Wood it is!"

Jane stopped – pancake halfway to her mouth – and frowned at Amy's statement.

"What?"

Maura's cousin rolled her eyes and pointed out at the date on the newspapers she had been reading previously.

"Today is your fifth wedding anniversary. Your traditional gift is – thus – wood. And it usually goes for silverware. If you have forgotten the date, skip the knife idea. Maura could seek vengeance a bit too easily."

"We don't follow that." Jane marked a pause but before Amy's worried look, she shook her head and rushed in to add a precision. "We stick more to the gem thing. And this year, it is rose quartz. Ma' is babysitting Finn, tonight."

Amy smiled. She looked satisfied.

"What did you get Maura, then? And do you still celebrate it at this shitty little coffee store up there in Harvard?"

The question made Jane laugh. It was a tradition, now. She had proposed there and they went back to this place every year to celebrate their anniversary. It was not a five-star restaurant but its symbol was strong enough. It was worth any renowned chef. Any big name.

"I got her earrings that you will only see when she shows you. There's no way I unwrap the whole thing. It took the girl forever to actually wrap the box!"

Amy turned her e-cig on and made a face.

"I know marriage and I don't get along but all these gifts is the only thing I miss for never having committed to anyone. Of course, I could buy them for myself but this is a lot less fun."

"Don't you have your usual groupies for this?" Jane smirked and walked to check today's schedule on the fridge, just next to Finn's latest drawing.

"Oh no. That would feel way too whore-ish for me."

Jane repressed a chuckle and politely nodded instead. She checked the time on the oven clock and rolled her eyes. If she didn't hurry up a bit, she would be late. Putting down her mug and biting a very last time in a pancake, she exited the kitchen then rushed to the stairs.

"It's not I don't like talking with you – Amy – but I need to get ready!"

The socialite nodded vaguely before returning to her newspapers reading.

Upstairs, Jane walked to the bathroom and took her shirt off. She was about to step into the shower when a sheet of paper scotched to the mirror above the sink caught her attention. She stopped in her tracks – turned around – and read the message on it.

_"I remember every detail of our wedding day as well... _

_Happy anniversary, Jane. I love you._

_Maura."_

Jane smiled. Brightly.

The End

_**Author's note: thank you everyone for all the reviews and private messages you sent me during this story. I hope you really enjoy it. I have a project for December and would like your advice. I would like to write a fic that would somehow follow the principles of an advent calendar - Rizzles oriented, obviously - yet I am not sure whether it is better to write a whole series of oneshots/drabbles (one per day) or a multiple-chapter story which own schedule/timing follows the calendar; the story would start on December, 1st and would end on December 31st (thus included a Rizzles Christmas etc). Feel free to let me know what you prefer. Yet since there are five days left before December 1st, I think that I will write oneshots in the meantime or have a little break then come back for the "big" December project in five days. Anyway, let me know what you think and what you would like to read.**_


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